Mergers and Acquisitions

A number of advocacy groups, including the anti-monopoly American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), have written to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking it to block recent oncology-focused acquisitions.

The two deals that prompted this response were McKesson Corporation’s $2.5bn bid for Core Ventures, and Cardinal Health’s $1.1bn acquisition of Integrated Oncology Network – both of which were announced in October 2024. Core Ventures is based in Florida, US, and is the management services organisation for the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute. It accounts for almost 100 locations, 250 physicians and 280 advanced practice providers. Meanwhile, 50 community oncology centres and over 100 providers make up the Integrated Oncology Network, which is also US-based.

The letter poses that the deals could raise trust and monopoly issues: “If approved, the deals would vertically integrate major players from two heavily consolidated healthcare industries, exacerbating well-documented patient harms, particularly for patients receiving cancer treatment and lessening competition in violation of antitrust laws.”

The letter – which is signed by Just Care USA, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Social Security Works, Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency, and Open Markets Institute, in addition to AELP – argues McKesson and Cardinal are two of the three major wholesalers, who in total account for almost 98% of the wholesaler market. Therefore, the proposed deals would violate the antitrust laws and scenarios outlined in 2023’s Merger Guidelines, a document backed by the FTC and US Department of Justice (DoJ).

The FTC is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection.