The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revealed that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has approved its request for a preliminary injunction against IQVIA Holdings Inc., the world's largest provider of healthcare data. This action will temporarily halt IQVIA's acquisition of Propel Media, Inc. while the FTC concludes its administrative proceeding aimed at permanently blocking the proposed transaction.
In a statement released by the FTC, it was clarified that the federal court's decision to approve the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction followed an evidentiary hearing and closing arguments held in late November and December 2023. The motion was granted by U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos on December 29, 2023, with the administrative trial set to commence on January 18, 2024.
The FTC statement further elaborated that this order from the federal court is considered a victory for the commission, which has contested numerous acquisitions deemed anticompetitive involving healthcare and emerging technology platform companies. The recent federal court order against IQVIA is viewed as its fourth win related to healthcare mergers within less than a month. "We are pleased with the federal court’s decision and look forward to continuing to fight to permanently enjoin this anticompetitive deal via the Commission’s administrative proceedings," stated Henry Liu, Director of Bureau of Competition.
According to an earlier press release from FTC, it had filed a lawsuit to block the proposed deal on July 17, 2023. In its administrative complaint, FTC argued that allowing digital media and technology company Propel Media to be acquired by IQVIA would result in IQVIA gaining a dominant position in programmatic advertising or "demand-side platforms" targeting healthcare professionals. The release noted that two of the top three programmatic advertising providers targeting doctors and other healthcare professionals with pharmaceutical drug advertisements and other healthcare products are IQVIA’s Lasso Marketing and PMI’s DeepIntent. In July 2023, the commission also authorized FTC staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal district court to prevent IQVIA from proceeding with the deal.
