Dec 27 Healthcare company Abbott Laboratories has won U.S. antitrust approval for its proposed purchase of medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc , the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. Abbott has agreed to divest two medical device businesses to settle FTC charges that the $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude would likely be anticompetitive, the FTC said in a statement.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters. </s> WASHINGTON: Healthcare company Abbott Laboratories has won U.S. antitrust approval for its proposed purchase of medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc , the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

Abbott has agreed to divest two medical device businesses to settle FTC charges that the US$25 billion acquisition of St. Jude would likely be anticompetitive, the FTC said in a statement.

Abbott has said the deal would help it compete against larger rivals Medtronic Plc and Boston Scientific Corp as hospitals look to cut the number of their suppliers. </s> The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has given its approval to Abbott Laboratories’ (NYSE: ) deal to acquire St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: ).

The FTC has certain conditions that Abbott Laboratories must fulfill to complete its acquisition of St. Jude Medical, Inc. One of these conditions is that it divests rights and assets for certain devices to Tokyo-based Terumo Corporation.

The rights and assets that it must divests are for vascular closure devices and steerable sheaths. St. Jude Medical, Inc. is the owner of the vascular closure devices and Abbott Laboratories owns the steerable sheaths. The companies must also help Terumo Corporation establish manufacturing for the devices. This condition was put in place to keep ABT from monopolizing the market for these devices.

There’s also another condition that the FTC has for Abbott Laboratories’ acquisition of St. Jude Medical, Inc. This is that it must inform the organization if it plans to purchase lesion-assessing ablation catheter assets from Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics.

Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics and St. Jude Medical, Inc. currently cover the market for lesion-assessing ablation catheters in the United States. This means that if Abbott Laboratories seeks to buy the lesion-assessing ablation catheters assets from Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, it would corner the market for them in America.

There is also still a 30-day period of time before the FTC decides if it will give the final consent order for the acquisition to Abbott Laboratories. During this time, the organization will be accepting public comments. This will have the final decision taking place on Jan. 26, 2017.
• The 10 Best Fidelity Funds for 2017
• 3 Stocks That Could Get Pounded by Tax Loss Selling </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Healthcare company Abbott Laboratories <ABT.N> has won U.S. antitrust approval for its proposed purchase of medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc <STJ.N>, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

Abbott has agreed to divest two medical device businesses to settle FTC charges that the $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude would likely be anticompetitive, the FTC said in a statement.

Abbott has said the deal would help it compete against larger rivals Medtronic Plc <MDT.N> and Boston Scientific Corp <BSX.N> as hospitals look to cut the number of their suppliers.

The FTC said the parties are required to sell businesses for two devices used in cardiovascular treatments - St. Jude’s vascular closure device and Abbott's steerable sheath - to Japan-based Terumo Corp <4543.T>.

Representatives for Abbott and St. Jude were not immediately available for comment.

Abbott said in October that the companies would sell some of their medical device business to Terumo for about $1.12 billion as a step toward completing the deal.

European antitrust enforcers approved the merger in November if the companies divest the two devices used in cardiovascular treatments.

St. Jude has been under pressure after short-seller Muddy Waters and research firm MedSec Holdings said in August that its heart devices were riddled with defects that make them vulnerable to cyber hacks. St. Jude has denied the allegations and sued both firms.

In October, St. Jude said it had told doctors to stop implants of its Nanostim leadless cardiac pacemaker, citing reports of problems with electronic data reporting caused by a battery malfunction that could put patients at risk.

There have been no reports that any patient injuries resulted from the malfunction, St. Jude has said.

Abbott has been divesting businesses to focus on its cardiovascular devices and diagnostics business, selling its medical optics division to Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> for $4.3 billion earlier this year. It spun off its pharmaceuticals business as AbbVie Inc <ABBV.N> in 2013.

Abbott is trying to pull out of a second deal, the $5.8 billion acquisition of diagnostic test maker Alere Inc <ALR.N>, which had failed to file financial statements and disclosed probes into billing and foreign sales practices.

The two companies are suing each other. </s> Federal regulators greenlighted Abbott Laboratories' purchase of St. Jude Medical on Tuesday after the companies agreed to divest two medical device businesses.

Abbott, based in north suburban Abbott Park, will sell the product lines to Tokyo-based Terumo Corp. to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the acquisition would harm competition.

Abbott will divest its steerable sheaths, which are used to guide catheters for treating irregular heartbeats. Minnesota-based St. Jude will divest its vascular closure devices, which are used to seal punctures from procedures involving catheters.

St. Jude has had a near-monopoly on steerable sheaths for more than a decade, and Abbott recently entered the market, according to an FTC news release. The merger would have eliminated any competition for the products, and given the combined companies more than 70 percent of the market for the vascular closure devices.

"We continue to work to obtain final regulatory approvals and anticipate closing before the end of the year or shortly thereafter," Abbott spokeswoman Elissa Maurer said in a statement.

The FTC also said Abbott must notify the federal agency if it plans to acquire assets for a device that provides feedback to physicians on the force catheters apply. Only St. Jude and one other company make those devices — called lesion-assessing ablation catheters — in the U.S.

Abbott has a partnership with Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics to develop the catheters, so if it acquired the assets from that company after the acquisition, it would eliminate competition.

The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, then the commission will vote again on whether to make the agreement final.

Abbott's stock was up almost half a percent to $38.60 at market close Tuesday. St. Jude's stock was up 0.4 percent to $80.15. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Healthcare company Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) has won U.S. antitrust approval for its proposed $25 billion acquisition of medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc STJ.N, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

Abbott agreed to divest two medical devices used in cardiovascular procedures to resolve FTC concerns the acquisition would stifle competition, the commission said in a statement.

“We continue to work to obtain final regulatory approvals and anticipate closing before the end of the year or shortly thereafter,” Abbott spokeswoman Elissa Maurer said in an email.

The company will sell St. Jude’s vascular closure device and Abbott’s steerable sheath to Japan-based Terumo Corp (4543.T). In October, Abbott said the companies would sell some of their medical device businesses to Terumo for about $1.12 billion as a step toward completing the deal.

Vascular closure devices are used to seal small holes made in an artery to prevent bleeding following a coronary angiogram, a special x-ray to see if coronary arteries are blocked or narrowed. Steerable sheaths are used to help place catheters into the heart.

European antitrust enforcers agreed to the deal in November provided the companies divest the two devices. Representatives for Abbott and St. Jude were not immediately available for comment.

Abbott has said the deal will help it compete against larger rivals Medtronic Plc (MDT.N) and Boston Scientific Corp (BSX.N) as hospitals look to cut the number of their suppliers.

St. Jude has been under pressure after short-seller Muddy Waters and research firm MedSec Holdings said in August that its heart devices were riddled with defects that make them vulnerable to cyber hacks. St. Jude has denied the allegations and sued both firms.

In October, St. Jude said it had told doctors to stop implants of its Nanostim leadless cardiac pacemaker, citing reports of problems with electronic data reporting caused by a battery malfunction that could put patients at risk.

There have been no reports that any patient injuries resulted from the malfunction, St. Jude has said.

Traders gather at the booth that trades Abbott Laboratories on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, December 10, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Abbott has been divesting businesses to focus on its cardiovascular devices and diagnostics business, selling its medical optics division to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) for $4.3 billion earlier this year. It spun off its pharmaceuticals business as AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) in 2013.

Abbott is trying to pull out of a second deal, the $5.8 billion acquisition of diagnostic test maker Alere Inc ALR.N, which had failed to file financial statements and disclosed probes into billing and foreign sales practices.

The two companies are suing each other. </s> Washington, DC - U.S.-based global healthcare company Abbott Laboratories has agreed to divest two medical device businesses to settle FTC charges that its proposed $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical, Inc. would likely be anticompetitive.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that without a remedy, the proposed acquisition would harm competition in the U.S. markets for vascular closure devices, which are used to close holes in arteries from the insertion of catheters, and for “steerable” sheaths, which are used to guide catheters for treating heart arrhythmias.

Without a remedy, the merger will cause significant harm to competition in these two markets. Specifically:
• The merged firm would control more than 70 percent of the market for vascular closure devices.
• St. Jude has held a near-monopoly in the market for steerable sheaths for more than a decade. Abbott recently entered the market, and the transaction would eliminate any competition between them.

The proposed consent order requires the parties to divest to Tokyo-based medical device maker Terumo Corporation all rights and assets related to St. Jude’s vascular closure device business and Abbott’s steerable sheath business. Terumo does not currently sell any vascular closure devices or steerable sheaths but has sold related products and medical devices in the U.S. market for more than 30 years, and possesses the industry experience and reputation necessary to replace competition, according to the FTC. The order requires both companies to assist Terumo with establishing its manufacturing capabilities.

Under the proposed order, Abbott is also required to notify the FTC if it intends to acquire lesion-assessing ablation catheter assets from Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, known as ACT. Lesion-assessing ablation catheters provide feedback to physicians regarding the force being applied by the catheter or the temperature of the ablation target.

Currently, only St. Jude and one other company provide lesion-assessing ablation catheters in the United States. Abbott and ACT have formed a partnership to develop these catheters. After the acquisition of St. Jude, if Abbott acquired lesion-assessing ablation catheter assets from ACT, it could eliminate additional competition that would result from an independent ACT.

More information about this proposed merger and the FTC’s consent agreement can be found in the analysis to aid public comment.

Commission staff and the staff of antitrust agencies in Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Israel, Korea and South Africa worked cooperatively on this investigation, including with respect to the remedy and divestiture package, to ensure a consistent outcome.

The Commission vote to issue the complaint and accept the proposed consent order for public comment was 3-0. The FTC will publish the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through January 26, 2017, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Comments can be filed electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the “Supplementary Information” section of the Federal Register notice. </s> NORTH CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission put conditions on Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) proposed $25 billion acquisition of rival medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ).



Abbott Laboratories has agreed to divest two medical device businesses to settle FTC charges that its proposed acquisition of St. Jude Medical Inc. would likely be anticompetitive.



The FTC's complaint alleges that without a remedy, the proposed acquisition would harm competition in the U.S. markets for vascular closure devices, which are used to close holes in arteries from the insertion of catheters, and for 'steerable' sheaths, which are used to guide catheters for treating heart arrhythmias.



The proposed consent order requires the parties to divest to Tokyo-based medical device maker Terumo Corporation all rights and assets related to St. Jude's vascular closure device business and Abbott's steerable sheath business. Terumo does not currently sell any vascular closure devices or steerable sheaths but has sold related products and medical devices in the U.S. market for more than 30 years, and possesses the industry experience and reputation necessary to replace competition, according to the FTC. The order requires both companies to assist Terumo with establishing its manufacturing capabilities.



Under the proposed order, Abbott is also required to notify the FTC if it intends to acquire lesion-assessing ablation catheter assets from Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, known as ACT. Lesion-assessing ablation catheters provide feedback to physicians regarding the force being applied by the catheter or the temperature of the ablation target.



Currently, only St. Jude and one other company provide lesion-assessing ablation catheters in the United States. Abbott and ACT have formed a partnership to develop these catheters. After the acquisition of St. Jude, if Abbott acquired lesion-assessing ablation catheter assets from ACT, it could eliminate additional competition that would result from an independent ACT.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> Abbott and St. Jude Medical, a maker of medical devices, agreed in October sell two product lines to win approval from the Federal Trade Commission. The companies will sell the product lines to Terumo Corp. for about $1.12 billion.

Abbott, based in North Chicago, and St. Jude Medical, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, announced their $25 billion acquisition on April 28.

The combination is expected to create a leading maker of medical devices in high-growth areas of the cardiovascular market.

St. Jude Medical is strong in the areas of heart failure devices, atrial fibrillation and cardiac rhythm management. Abbott is a leader in coronary intervention and transcatheter mitral repair.

“Bringing together these two great companies will create a premier medical device business and immediately advance Abbott’s strategic and competitive position,” Abbott chairman and CEO Miles D. White said in April. “The combined business will have a powerful pipeline ready to deliver next-generation medical technologies and offer improved efficiencies for health care systems around the world.”

Earlier this month, Abbott filed a lawsuit to end its buyout of troubled medical diagnostics maker Alere as that company dealt with the fallout of a key device recall and government investigations.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gives the antitrust go ahead to Abbott Laboratories in its acquisition of St. Jude Medical.