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Illumina’s stock fell on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission said it would challenge the company’s takeover of liquid biopsy company Grail.
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Late Tuesday, the FTC said it filed an administrative complaint and allowed a federal court to block the $ 7.1 billion acquisition. He argues that the proposed acquisition will decrease innovation in the United States for early detection tests for several cancers.
Illumina (ILMN), on the other hand, said it remains firm in its Grail buy plan. Grail graduated from Illumina in 2016. He uses next-generation sequencing technology to find key markers in the blood associated with cancers.
“We have a vested interest in ensuring that all organizations have equal and equitable access to high-quality, reliable and cost-effective sequencing to enable them to develop breakthrough products, such as liquid biopsy, and make them accessible to the greatest. number of patients. possible, quickly and safely, ”Illumina CEO Francis deSouza said in a written statement.
On the stock market today, Illumina stock fell 6.6% to 368.69. In the after-hours action, stocks slipped a further 0.7% to close to 366.60.
Illumina Stock dives into the FTC challenge
Illumina stock fell 8.6% on September 21, the day it announced the acquisition of Grail. But stocks rose for the remainder of 2020 and hit a high of 555.77 on February 12.
The company says its technology is in no way competing with that of Grail.
“By bringing the two organizations together, Illumina will leverage its global scale of manufacturing and clinical capabilities, as well as its global regulatory and reimbursement expertise, to offer patients testing for several more early stage cancers. quickly and at a more affordable price, ”Illumina said in its press release.
The FTC notes that tests for the early detection of several cancers could be used to find 50 types of cancer, “most of which are not detected at all today.” FTC Acting President Rebecca Kelly Slaughter called the tests “a game changer for cancer patients and their loved ones.”
“If this acquisition is made, it would likely reduce innovation in this critical area of healthcare, decrease the quality of tests (for early detection of several cancers) and make them more expensive,” she said in a statement. written press release.
Illumina stock was sandwiched between its 50- and 200-day moving averages on Tuesday.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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