United States of America: Announced FTC lawsuit against IQVIA's acquisition of Propel Media

On 17 July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it had issued a complaint and initiated an investigation into IQVIA Holdings Inc.'s acquisition of Propel Media Inc., citing concerns about competition in healthcare programmatic advertising. The FTC argues that the merger would give IQVIA a dominant market position, resulting in higher prices for consumers and hindering innovation. Furthermore, FTC claimed that IQVIA is the largest data provider, and the acquisition would give it control over critical healthcare data, potentially negatively impacting competition in healthcare programmatic advertising. The FTC stated that it aims to protect patients by ensuring a competitive market for healthcare product advertising. The complaint seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the acquisition.