Recently, Merck (MRK) and Schering-Plough (SGP) received approval from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Swiss Competition Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau for their proposed merger. However, the transaction has yet to receive approval from other regulators, including China and Mexico. The deal was approved by the European Union antitrust regulators last week. Shareholders of both the companies have already approved the deal in August. Merck expects to close the proposed merger by year end. The FTC approval has come with the condition that both companies will sell some assets. As a result, Schering-Plough has agreed to sell its rolapitant drug, meant to be used for the treatment for nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients to Opko Health Inc. In addition, Merck agreed to sell its interest in Merial Ltd, an animal health joint venture, to its French partner, Sanofi-Aventis ...

Shares of Rambus Inc. (RMBS) surged more than 15% after announcing a tentative settlement of an antitrust probe by the European Commission.

As per the settlement, the company has agreed to limit the royalty rates on certain products and also offer "royalty holiday" in certain cases. EU will drop the probe and Rambus won't have to pay any fine.

"With this proposed resolution, we create a new platform where all parties can move forward by licensing our patented innovations for future use in their products rather than engaging in costly litigation," said senior VP and general counsel Thomas Lavelle.

EU antitrust regulators had accused the company of "patent ambush" in 2007 as it demanded "unreasonable royalties" on patents related to memory chip technology using its "dominant position."

The US Federal Trade Commission dropped a similar probe on Rambus last month.

RMBS, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") stock, is trading

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Quick Analysis of Follow-On BiologicsOn June 10, 2009, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a 120-page report providing a competitive analysis of allowing generic biologics, or follow-on biologics (FOB).  The full report can be found on the FTC's website here.The Hatch-Waxman Act, which essentially created the generic pharmaceutical industry in 1984, does not apply to biologics. Hatch-Waxman paved the way for generic small molecules by allowing two pathways for approval. The first is an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA), which allows for the filing for approval by a generic manufacturer using safety and efficacy data from the original developer, and the 505(b)(2) pathway, which allows for use of non-originated data to support changes in formulation of administration without having to conduct large-scale clinical programs.There is currently no path to approval for generic or alternative biologic molecules as exists for small ...

Against the backdrop of a possible launch of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) new smartphone, federal regulators are now investigating if an overlap of directors on the boards of Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) breach antitrust laws.

The Silicon Valley giants share two directors on their boards, Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google, and Arthur Levinson, former chief executive of Genentech Inc. (DNA). The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is examining if such connections thwart market competition in software and services.

Under federal antitrust law, "interlocking directorates" is not allowed if it decreases competition between two companies in the same sector. This law, or the Clayton act, is seldom used and difficult to enforce. The typical outcome of violation under the act would be resignation of the concerned directors from one of the boards.

While Schmidt has been on Google's

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