Judge delays data ‘juggernaut’ Iqvia’s big digital media acquisition in FTC fight

DURHAM – Life science giant Iqiva’s bid to deepen its grip on programmatic advertising in the healthcare market has been put on hold until at least November by a district court judge.

The $800 million deal for Propel Media ran into trouble on July 17 when the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-0 to seek to block the merger, saying the deal would give Iqvia “a market- leading position in programmatic advertising for health care products, namely prescription drugs, to doctors and other health care professionals.”

A judge is reviewing the FTC request for a block of the deal and the companies have agreed to hold off on closing it until at least Nov. 23, according to multiple reports.

However, in a statement, Iqvia told Endpoint News that the FTC action “fundamentally misunderstands the facts” and that it is attempting to  “inappropriately apply the law.”

Health news site STAT says Iqvia has become “a juggernaut with no peer in the business of brokering Americans’ medical information … Now, government regulators say, Iqvia’s appetite for acquisition is getting out of control — and must be reined in.”

Read more at Endpoint News: https://endpts.com/data-giant-iqvia-and-adtech-firm-propel-to-hold-on-deal-close-as-ftc-case-proceeds/

And at Law360: https://www.law360.com/media/articles/1702719/judge-temporarily-halts-iqvia-deal-at-ftc-s-behest

Feds move to block life science giant Iqvia’s acquisition of digital media firm

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