US regulators gave tentative approval Wednesday to a deal allowing Pfizer to buy pharmaceutical Wyeth, boosting the size of the world's biggest drugmaker. The Federal Trade Commission said it would approve the 68-billion-dollar deal but require "significant divestitures to preserve competition in multiple US markets for animal pharmaceuticals and vaccines."
The Commission voted 2-0 to approve the plan. The order will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until November 16, after which the FTC will decide whether to make it final. An FTC statement that a "thorough investigation" concluded that "the transaction does not raise anticompetitive concerns in any human health product markets." "The Commission is dedicated to promoting competition in health care
markets to ensure that costs are contained and to protect incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop new medications," the statement added. Pfizer, already the world's biggest pharmaceutical firm, announced the planned merger in January, seeking diversification as it prepares for the expiration of patents on its blockbuster drugs.