Issues released for Mylan N.V./Upjohn Inc. clearance

Statement of Preliminary Issues released for Mylan N.V./Upjohn Inc. clearance application
The Commerce Commission has published a statement of preliminary issues relating to a clearance application from Mylan N.V. (Mylan) and Upjohn Inc. (Upjohn), which proposes to merge their global pharmaceutical businesses.

The statement outlines the key competition issues that the Commission considers important in deciding whether or not to grant clearance to the proposed merger.

The Commission invites interested parties to provide comments on the likely competitive effects of the proposed merger. Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference Mylan/Upjohn in the subject line. Parties should provide a public version of their submission at the same time for publication on the Commission’s case register. Any submissions should be received by close of business on Tuesday 28 January 2020.

The Commission is currently scheduled to make a decision on the application by 6 March 2020, however, this date may be extended.

The Statement of Preliminary Issues and a public version of the application can be found on the on the Commission’s case register.

Background
Mylan is a US-based global pharmaceutical company that develops, licenses, manufactures, markets and distributes generic, branded generic, and specialty pharmaceuticals. Mylan is active in New Zealand through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mylan NZ Limited.

Upjohn is a subsidiary of Pfizer (a global pharmaceutical company involved in the research, development, manufacturing and supply of medicines) which operates Pfizer’s off-patent branded, and generic established medicines business and is headquartered in China. Upjohn has a portfolio of 21 off-patent medicines across several different therapeutic areas.

In New Zealand, both parties supply off-patent prescription medicines including cholesterol and triglyceride regulators, non-steroidal antirheumatics, antiepileptics and erectile dysfunction products.

We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Further information explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on our website.

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