Quoted from The Economist this morning:
Generic question: drug mergers and prices
Mylan, a maker of generic drugs, announces first-quarter results today. Financial analysts are optimistic: the Dutch-domiciled company has already launched five products this year. It is in the spotlight for another reason, too: it is in the middle of a three-way takeover fight. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, an Israeli firm, has offered $40 billion for Mylan; Mylan, in turn, has bid $35.6 billion for Perrigo, which makes over-the-counter medicines and is domiciled in Ireland. Both offers have been rejected. But the proposals have prompted debate over whether mergers would cause a rise in the prices of generics (some of which have recently leaped alarmingly). By providing competition to branded drugs, generics bring down the cost of treatment enormously. The question is whether consolidation among generics companies weakens that effect. Analysts are divided. The answer matters: healthy competition is likely to mean healthier people.