FTC Reportedly Investigating Valeant’s Acquisition of Gas Permeable CL Maker

Thursday, October 29 2015 | 00 h 00 min | News

According to the non-profit news organization ProPublica, the US Federal Trade Commission is investigating if Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant illegally cornered the market for a material used in gas permeable lenses.

Valeant disclosed on Monday, October 19, that it had received a letter from the FTC regarding its acquisition of Paragon Vision Sciences, a manufacturer of gas permeable lenses, but did not comment further.

According to ProPublica, the FTC is concerned that Valeant’s acquisitions of Baush + Lomb and Paragon Vision Sciences now give Valeant monopoly control over the gas permeable market. Valeant now controls 85 to 90 percent of the GP lens supply chain, says Jan Svochak, president of the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association.

Valeant shares lost one third of their market value last week.

Further information: http://www.propublica.org/article/federal-investigators-looking-at-valeant-contact-lens-dealings