US FTC approves Hikma deal for Custopharm with conditions

Hikma Pharma has won the US anti-trust approval to buy Custopharm on condition that it divest an injectable steroid, the US Federal Trade Commission said recently.

Hikma, which makes anaesthetics, pain medications, sedatives, neuromuscular agents and other drugs, announced the deal in September as a way for it to strengthen its injectable treatments unit in the US. It was valued at $425 million at that time.

Under a deal struck with the FTC, Custopharm’s parent company will retain assets related to the corticosteroid drug triamcinolone acetonide, or TCA, by shifting it to another subsidiary.

“Hikma’s acquisition of Custopharm’s TCA business could have caused significant harm for patients who use TCA to treat severe skin conditions, allergies and inflammation,” Holly Vedova, Director, Bureau of Competition, FTC, said in a statement.

Edits by EP News Bureau