Illumina Ordered by FTC to Unwind $7 Billion Grail Deal From 2021

  • FTC overturns in-house judge’s ruling that okayed deal
  • Illumina plans to appeal agency’s decision to federal court

A technician looks at an Illumina Inc. DNA sequencing machine at the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences in Hong Kong.

Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg
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Illumina Inc.’s was ordered to unwind its $7 billion acquisition of cancer startup Grail by the Federal Trade Commission, an uncommon move by antitrust regulators who said the deal raises competition concerns for cancer testing.

The FTC’s 4-0 decision announced Monday overturned an earlier ruling by its in-house judge who found last year that the tie-up wouldn’t harm innovation in the market for early-stage cancer detection.