US: DOJ to tackle drug pricing and no-poach deals in 2020

The Justice Department’s antitrust division is preparing to tackle competition issues in several important markets, including alleged price-fixing in the generic-drug industry, rules for music licensing and purported employer collusion that limits options for sought-after workers.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, the Justice Department’s top antitrust official, said the department would act on those issues in the next several months. He said it was too soon to predict the outcome of his division’s highest-profile endeavor: an investigation of whether dominant tech firms are stifling competition.

“We’re well into the fairway of gathering data and evidence” on the tech probe, Mr. Delrahim said.

The department’s investigation of Alphabet’s Google includes a collaboration with state attorneys general, and the Justice Department is staying in touch with the Federal Trade Commission as both agencies probe Facebook Inc., he said. Separately, the department is considering whether Google should be allowed to acquire Fitbit Inc., the wearable fitness-product company.

Mr. Delrahim also said he was closely tracking how the National Collegiate Athletic Association was handling the issue of payment for college athletes, expressing concerns with the group’s restrictions on benefits and compensation.

As Mr. Delrahim bounced between meetings, a sprawling stack of papers dominated his conference room table, signaling what looks like a busy year of enforcement developments.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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