Federal Trade Commission actions on prescription drugs, 2000-2022

About The Study: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought about one enforcement action and three merger actions per year against pharmaceutical manufacturers from 2000-2022, pursuing a small fraction of the estimated misconduct and consolidation in the pharmaceutical marketplace. Although the FTC faces substantial legal and practical limitations, important tools remain untested, including a rule defining “unfair methods of competition,” that may allow it to more effectively prevent repetitive patterns of anticompetitive behavior. 

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Aaron S. Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., email akesselheim@bwh.harvard.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link

(doi:10.1001/jama.2024.5737)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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