Italy's Dog/Cat Ear Infection Anti-Microbials Market: Highly-Concentrated

More, shortly (other duties call -- but I wanted to get this cute puppy graphic right out!); this is the third in the series -- Schering-Plough / Intervet / Merial-Sanofi/ "New Merck" would have 55 percent to 60 percent of the companion animal ear infection antimicrobials market in Italy -- and face only one serious competitor -- Janssen.

This is one more thing to write about, when you get ready to write the European Competition Commission.

You only have six days left to respond -- now that Sanofi-Aventis is acquiring the second half of Merck's Merial animal health venture, and is also being granted the right to buy all of Intervet, post the Schering-Merck merger. [Here are the earlier parts one, and parts two.]

Back in the Fall of 2007, as a part of Schering-Plough's original acquisition of Organon (and Intervet), the ECC required divestitures of a slew of animal health product lines. While it is exceedingly difficult to track which concerns bought which product lines, post 2007 (out of the Organon/Intervet acquisition required divestitures), what is clear is that if Merial and Intervet are combined, even in a 50-50 joint venture between Sanofi-Aventis and "New Merck" -- there will be significant, and increased, concentration in many animal health markets in Europe.

[Recall again that Sanofi-Aventis is buying Merial, from Merck, and then receiving a "call" option -- to buy all of Intervet, post the Schering-Plough/Merck merger.] With me so far? Good.:

. . . .The parties have a combined market share of [55-60]% (Schering-Plough: [10-20]%; Intervet: [10-20]%; Merial: [20-30]%), in Italy. The new entity would face only two competitors, only one of which has solid market share: Janssen: [30-40]. . . .

So, this is yet a[nother] public service mailer -- print, or cut and paste the above, and mail in the next ten days -- if you are at all concerned about preserving European price- and product-offering competition in animal health businesses. Mail it (Old School-style) to this address:

European Commission
Directorate-General for Competition
Merger Registry
J-70
1049 Bruxelles/Brussel
BELGIQUE/BELGIËEN

"Whiskey for my men; beer for my horses. . . ."