Allergan Gets FTC Okay to Buy Inamed

Irvine, CA-based Allergan announced that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved its acquisition of Santa Barbara, CA-based Inamed. Both are cosmetic treatment product manufacturers. Inamed is also a manufacturer of breast implants and obesity treatment devices. The FTC approval was the final antitrust hurdle required for the purchase that was completed in December. Botox is now the only botulinum toxin approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat facial wrinkles. The FTC concluded that Allergan’s takeover of Inamed would reduce competition in the U.S. market for such products unless Inamed relinquished rights to develop and distribute Reloxin, a treatment similar to Botox. Reloxin is undergoing advanced-stage clinical trials with the FDA. The two companies acknowledged early in the deal that Inamed’s Reloxin license might be an issue and had said they would be willing to divest Inamed of its rights to the treatment. The FTC said it had reached a formal agreement with the companies that call for Inamed to return the rights to Reloxin to Britain’s Ipsen Ltd., which has been producing and marketing Reloxin in Europe under the brand Dysport.