Most of the focus on government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the various steps—and often missteps—of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet behind the scenes lurks another governmental actor that may have an ever-larger influence over pharmaceutical development in the United States: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which regulates competitive practices and oversees merger activity.
President Biden came into office promising more aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws, appointing the young progressive Lina Khan as FTC chair to spearhead the effort. Among the first targets of her skeptical gaze is the pharmaceutical industry, which has already become the subject of a multilateral Task Force investigation that includes not only the FTC, Department of Justice, and state attorneys general, but also foreign competition enforcement agencies from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
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