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UK Regulator Probes Elanco Asset Sale To Dechra

By  |  April 20, 2020

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Monday, April 20, that it is opening a formal phase 1 investigation into Elanco Animal Health’s anticipated sale of its Osurnia product portfolio to Dechra Pharmaceuticals.

The antitrust regulator stated it has a deadline of June 17 for a decision on the initial probe. Last month, the CMA announced it was considering whether the deal might be expected to hurt competition in the UK and opened a consultation which closed on April 17.

Animal-health company Elanco in January agreed to sell Osurnia, a treatment for otitis externa in dogs, to UK veterinary medicines company Dechra for US$135 million in cash. The deal was part of Elanco’s efforts to gain regulatory clearance for its US$7.6 billion acquisition of Bayer AG’s animal-health business.

Full Content: Market Watch

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