Associate Dean Daryl Lim quoted in CTFN on FTC review of $7.8 billion biotech deal

CARLISLE, Pa.—Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Partnerships Daryl Lim was quoted in CTFN regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s likely review of Gilead Sciences’ $7.8 billion acquisition of Arcellx. His commentary analyzed how the FTC approaches mergers involving preexisting ownership stakes and collaborative pipeline development in the pharmaceutical sector. Lim explained that partial ownership does not entitle a transaction to lighter scrutiny under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

Instead, he emphasized that antitrust review turns on competitive realities in the relevant market. His analysis highlighted how merger enforcement in biotechnology often centers on pipeline overlaps, innovation markets, and therapeutic competition. The commentary reflects his broader scholarship and teaching in antitrust law, intellectual property, and the regulation of innovation-driven industries.

CTFN is a specialized news outlet covering mergers, corporate transactions, and regulatory enforcement. The article examined the competitive landscape for multiple myeloma treatments and assessed whether the FTC would issue a Second Request. Lim’s remarks underscored contemporary merger review principles, including the role of innovation markets and the agencies’ focus on market structure rather than ownership percentages alone. His expertise bridges antitrust doctrine and the strategic realities facing firms in high-technology and life sciences sectors.

Daryl Lim is the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is also the Associate Dean for Research & Strategic Partnerships and Founding Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Innovation Initiative. At the university level, he is a co-hire at the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences and an affiliate at the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence.

Professor Lim is an award-winning author, observer, and commentator on national and global trends in IP and competition policy and how they influence and are influenced by law, technology, economics, and politics. He helps policymakers, attorneys, corporate counsel, scholars, and the public understand the world around them. He is a founding member of the Global IP Alliance and its local chapters in Pennsylvania and Illinois. In addition, he serves as Co-Chair of the University Education Committee in the US IP Alliance.

In December 2022, the American Law Institute elected Professor Lim to its membership based on demonstrated excellence and outstanding professional achievement. In 2023, the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized him as “a leading expert in antitrust law and economics” and the IAM Strategy 300, a guide to the industry pioneers with “exceptional skill sets, as well as profound insights into the development, creation, and management of IP value,” named him to its World’s Leading IP Strategists 2023 list. In 2024, he was appointed to the consultative group advising the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. In 2025, he received the IP Professor of the Year Award at the Global Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence & Technology Conclave & Awards.