The Federal Trade Commission broke new ground last year in its opposition to M&A transactions and challenge of Orange Book patent listings. The biopharma community is waiting to see if deals will face similar hurdles in 2024 and whether there will be legal battles if manufacturers of drug-device combination products decline to delist their patents. Researchers advocate that the FTC extend its inquiry to device patents on GLP-1 receptor agonists, including Wegovy and Ozempic.

GlaxoSmithKline, Amneal and Kaleo delist patents on inhalers and autoinjectors in drug-device combination products in response to FTC criticism. But AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Teva hold firm, teeing up legal battles if the Commission takes enforcement action.

Plus deals involving Biocytogen, Neurocrine and Ona, Aeterna Zentaris/Ceapro, Teva/Biolojic Design, Pathos AI/Rain Oncology, Inhibitor Therapeutics/Johns Hopkins and more.

Global medtechs had a big enough challenge with COVID-19 and its aftermath before the full-scale regional conflict in Ukraine added more uncertainty to the question of when market normality would return.