Don’t let corporate giants acquire more power
Petition to Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission:
It’s critical that the increasing number of big corporate acquisitions and mergers are the subject of Congressional hearings and receive high-levels of scrutiny for violations of federal antitrust laws. Big Pharma mergers like Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics, Amazon’s attempt to buy One Medical, railroad consolidation, and all other major corporate mergers must be examined for (likely) anti-competitive outcomes and stopped if they violate antitrust laws.
Two Big Pharma giants are trying to merge. The $28 billion deal between Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics1 would mark one of the biggest pharma mergers in recent history. Both companies have also been accused of price gouging — together, they’d have even more power to manipulate the market.2,3
It’s critical that Congress and federal regulators investigate giant corporate mergers and enforce federal antitrust laws. If not,
consumers will suffer price hikes — in this case,
even higher costs for prescription drugs and health care.
Sign the petition to Congress and federal regulators: Stop any corporate mergers that break antitrust laws. We rely on you to protect consumers from anti-competitive business practices.
It’s not just Amgen and Horizon — America’s biggest corporations are trying to get even bigger. That’s bad for consumers, public health, and innovation.
Amazon is attempting to acquire One Medical for $3.9 billion,4 a move that would help Amazon on its path towards becoming a health care monopoly. Facebook’s parent, Meta, is trying to acquire a prominent VR company.5 Two major railroad companies are trying to merge for $27 billion, continuing consolidation in the railroad industry that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has called seriously concerning.6
This is not an extensive list, just some examples of the attempts by corporate giants to consolidate their power. But we have federal antitrust laws to protect competition and to protect consumers from worse products for higher prices. Our elected leaders and regulatory agencies must do everything in their power to more frequently and forcefully scrutinize and, when necessary, block these mergers.
Urge Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and DOJ to uphold antitrust laws to stop runaway corporate power.
Sources:
- Wall Street Journal, "Amgen Agrees to Acquire Horizon Therapeutics for $27.8 Billion," December 12, 2022.
- Motley Fool, "Congressional Committee Accuses Amgen and Peers of Hiking Drug Prices to Meet 'Aggressive' Revenue Targets," October 2, 2020.
- Fierce Pharma, "Horizon's faced repeated price-hike criticism, but Vimovo just got its 11th raise—to almost $3,000," February 15, 2018.
- New York Times, "Amazon to acquire One Medical clinics in latest push into health care," July 21, 2022.
- Federal Trade Commission, "FTC Seeks to Block Virtual Reality Giant Meta’s Acquisition of Popular App Creator Within," July 27, 2022.
- Iowa Public Radio, "Department of Justice has 'serious concerns' about Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger," January 26, 2023.