Revised International Enforcement Guidelines Prescribe Increasing Collaboration Between U.S., Foreign Competition Agencies To Investigate, Prosecute Antitrust Violations

Companies, including those in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, with multinational operations should expect increasing collaboration between U.S. and foreign competition agencies to investigate and prosecute alleged antitrust violations. In light of recent and ongoing investigations by U.S. and UK competition agencies into generic and sole-source drug pricing, the revised guidelines are expected to encourage further information sharing across jurisdictions.

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and Department of Justice ("DOJ") have published a revised edition of their Antitrust Guidelines for International Enforcement and Cooperation. These guidelines, first published in 1995, shed light on the agencies' enforcement policy on international business activity, including the extraterritorial application of U.S. antitrust laws, cooperation with foreign authorities, and investigative tools applied to international investigations.