Valeant to divest Paragon

Valeant Pharmaceuticals has agreed to divest Paragon Holdings I Inc. to restore competition in the gas-permeable button market, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

It was alleged that Valeant’s acquisition of Paragon Holdings, which included the wholly owned subsidiaries Paragon Vision Sciences Inc. and CRT Technology Inc., violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act by lessening competition in the markets for polymer discs, or buttons, used to make orthokeratology, large-diameter scleral and general vision correction contact lenses.

The FTC has accepted the Valeant consent order for public comment for 30 days, after which the commission will review the consent order and its comments and decide whether it should be withdrawn, modified or made final.

Valeant is a leading producer of GP buttons through its subsidiary Bausch + Lomb, according to the FTC. In May 2015, Valeant acquired Paragon, which also produces GP buttons and finished lenses. Valeant then purchased Pelican, which became a subsidiary of Paragon. Pelican manufactures contact lens packaging and the only FDA-approved vials for wet-shipping finished ortho-K lenses.

“The acquisition likely caused significant competitive harm in the relevant markets,” according to the FTC. “Specifically, the acquisition of Paragon eliminated actual, direct and substantial competition between Valeant and Paragon in the relevant markets for GP buttons and allowed Valeant to unilaterally exercise market power. For instance, following the acquisition, Valeant increased prices in all three GP button markets.”

The FTC said that Valeant is required to divest Paragon and Pelican under the terms of the consent order.