\u3ci\u3eFTC v. Lundbeck\u3c/i\u3e: Is Anything in Antitrust Obvious, Like, Ever?

In FTC v. Lundbeck, the Eighth Circuit affirmed a bench verdict finding a merger to monopoly, followed by a 1400% price increase, not only legal, but effectively not even subject to antitrust. The result followed from the district court\u27s view that peculiarities in the market for hospital-administered drugs rendered it essentially immune from price competition. That being the case, the court found that even products very plainly substitutable on any traditional functional interchangeability analysis are not in the same relevant market for purposes of rules governing horizontal mergers. We think the court\u27s analysis was incorrect for a number of factual reasons, but stress that, much more importantly, a case like Lundbeck calls for return to traditionally broad, prophylactic rules

Brief of Amici Curiae 65 Professors of Law, Business, Economics, and Sports Management in Support of Respondents

The Alston plaintiffs are college athletes who successfully challenged the NCAA\u27s amateurism rules, convincing the lower courts that the rules should be modestly relaxed to limit their effect on competition for athletic talent. Nearly 60 professors of law, business, and economics from around the country joined the brief

Brief of Amicus Curiae American Antitrust Institute in support of Appellants and Reversal of the District Court\u27s Decision, Federal Trade Commission and State of Minnesota v. Lundbeck, Inc. Nos. 10-3548 and 10-3549, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth District (2011)

The basis for the District Court’s ruling was its view that cross-price elasticity of demand was “very low” between the two drugs acquired by Lundbeck, and therefore that they could not be in the same relevant market.2 AAI urges reversal on three grounds. First, assuming arguendo that crossprice elasticity was low – even if it were zero – the court’s approach fundamentally misapprehended the law. A lack of price competition between two functionally interchangeable products does not preclude a determination that they are in the same relevant market. Second, regardless of “low” cross-price elasticity, the acquisition removed an actual or potential constraint on a monopolist’s ability to exercise monopoly power and was therefore anticompetitive and illegal under Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 2 of the Sherman Act. And third, the court’s finding of “low” crossprice elasticity should be rejected because it cannot be reconciled with the rest of its findings and is otherwise riddled with errors

Brief of Amicus Curiae American Antitrust Institute in support of Appellants and Reversal of the District Court\u27s Decision, Federal Trade Commission and State of Minnesota v. Lundbeck, Inc. Nos. 10-3548 and 10-3549, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth District (2011)

The basis for the District Court’s ruling was its view that cross-price elasticity of demand was “very low” between the two drugs acquired by Lundbeck, and therefore that they could not be in the same relevant market.2 AAI urges reversal on three grounds. First, assuming arguendo that crossprice elasticity was low – even if it were zero – the court’s approach fundamentally misapprehended the law. A lack of price competition between two functionally interchangeable products does not preclude a determination that they are in the same relevant market. Second, regardless of “low” cross-price elasticity, the acquisition removed an actual or potential constraint on a monopolist’s ability to exercise monopoly power and was therefore anticompetitive and illegal under Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 2 of the Sherman Act. And third, the court’s finding of “low” crossprice elasticity should be rejected because it cannot be reconciled with the rest of its findings and is otherwise riddled with errors

Understanding Iliotibial Band-Sparing Total Hip Arthroplasty: Alternatives to Traditional THA Approaches

Excellent long term results in total hip arthroplasty (THA are achievable through a variety of surgical techniques. However, the push for cost savings and higher patient expectations has shifted the focus to improving short term outcomes such as length of stay and in-hospital narcotic requirements. While approximately 87% of surgeons worldwide continue to prefer traditional posterolateral (PL) or lateral approaches for arthroplasty,1alternative approaches that spare the iliotibial band have emerged over the last several years in hopes of improved outcomes. This review explores the iliotibial band-sparing approaches, their advantages and disadvantages, and provides an overview of their published results

Application of acoustical remote sensing techniques for ecosystem monitoring of a seagrass meadow

Seagrasses provide a multitude of ecosystem services and serve as important organic carbon stores. However, seagrass habitats are declining worldwide, threatened by global climate change and regional shifts in water quality. Acoustical methods have been applied to assess changes in oxygen production of seagrass meadows since sound propagation is sensitive to the presence of bubbles, which exist both within the plant tissue and freely floating the water as byproducts of photosynthesis. This work applies acoustic remote sensing techniques to characterize two different regions of a seagrass meadow: a densely vegetated meadow of Thalassia testudinum and a sandy region sparsely populated by isolated stands of T. testudinum. A Bayesian approach is applied to estimate the posterior probability distributions of the unknown model parameters. The sensitivity of sound to the void fraction of gas present in the seagrass meadow was established by the narrow marginal probability distributions that provided distinct estimates of the void fraction between the two sites. The absolute values of the estimated void fractions are biased by limitations in the forward model, which does not capture the full complexity of the seagrass environment. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate the potential use of acoustical methods to remotely sense seagrass health and density

Broadband sound propagation in a seagrass meadow throughout a diurnal cycle

Acoustic propagation measurements were conducted in a Thalassia testudinum meadow in the Lower Laguna Madre, a shallow bay on the Texas Gulf of Mexico coast. A piezoelectric source transmitted frequency-modulated chirps (0.1 to 100 kHz) over a 24-h period during which oceanographic probes measured environmental parameters including dissolved oxygen and solar irradiance. Compared to a nearby less vegetated area, the received level was lower by as much as 30 dB during the early morning hours. At the peak of photosynthesis-driven bubble production in the late afternoon, an additional decrease in level of 11 dB was observed

Tumor-Penetrating Delivery of siRNA against TNFα to Human Vestibular Schwannomas

Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is the most common tumor of the cerebellopontine angle, and it typically presents with sensorineural hearing loss. The genomic landscape of schwannoma is complex and many of the molecules implicated in VS pathogenesis represent targets not amenable to antibody-based or small molecule therapeutics. Tumor-targeted delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics provides a direct and effective means to interrogate targets while minimizing off-target effects. To establish a preclinical model for therapeutic inhibition of putative targets in VS, archived tumor specimens, fresh tumor cells derived from patients with sporadic VS, and an established schwannoma cell line were screened. Nanoparticles directed by the tumor-homing peptide iRGD were selectively taken up by primary VS cultures in vitro via interactions with αvβ3/β5 integrins and neuropilin-1 (NRP-1). Cellular uptake was inhibited by a neutralizing antibody against αv integrin in a dose-dependent manner. When applied to primary VS cultures, iRGD-targeted nanoparticles delivered siRNA directed against TNFα in a receptor-specific fashion to potently silence gene expression and protein secretion. Taken together, our results provide a proof of principle for tumor-targeted, nanoparticle-mediated delivery of siRNA to VS and establish a novel platform for the development and pre-clinical screening of molecular therapeutics against VS

Caterpillars and fungal pathogens: two co-occurring parasites of an ant-plant mutualism

In mutualisms, each interacting species obtains resources from its partner that it would obtain less efficiently if alone, and so derives a net fitness benefit. In exchange for shelter (domatia) and food, mutualistic plant-ants protect their host myrmecophytes from herbivores, encroaching vines and fungal pathogens. Although selective filters enable myrmecophytes to host those ant species most favorable to their fitness, some insects can by-pass these filters, exploiting the rewards supplied whilst providing nothing in return. This is the case in French Guiana for Cecropia obtusa (Cecropiaceae) as Pseudocabima guianalis caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) can colonize saplings before the installation of their mutualistic Azteca ants. The caterpillars shelter in the domatia and feed on food bodies (FBs) whose production increases as a result. They delay colonization by ants by weaving a silk shield above the youngest trichilium, where the FBs are produced, blocking access to them. This probable temporal priority effect also allows female moths to lay new eggs on trees that already shelter caterpillars, and so to occupy the niche longer and exploit Cecropia resources before colonization by ants. However, once incipient ant colonies are able to develop, they prevent further colonization by the caterpillars. Although no higher herbivory rates were noted, these caterpillars are ineffective in protecting their host trees from a pathogenic fungus, Fusarium moniliforme (Deuteromycetes), that develops on the trichilium in the absence of mutualistic ants. Therefore, the Cecropia treelets can be parasitized by two often overlooked species: the caterpillars that shelter in the domatia and feed on FBs, delaying colonization by mutualistic ants, and the fungal pathogen that develops on old trichilia. The cost of greater FB production plus the presence of the pathogenic fungus likely affect tree growth

The Establishment of Genetically Engineered Canola Populations in the U.S.

Concerns regarding the commercial release of genetically engineered (GE) crops include naturalization, introgression to sexually compatible relatives and the transfer of beneficial traits to native and weedy species through hybridization. To date there have been few documented reports of escape leading some researchers to question the environmental risks of biotech products. In this study we conducted a systematic roadside survey of canola (Brassica napus) populations growing outside of cultivation in North Dakota, USA, the dominant canola growing region in the U.S. We document the presence of two escaped, transgenic genotypes, as well as non-GE canola, and provide evidence of novel combinations of transgenic forms in the wild. Our results demonstrate that feral populations are large and widespread. Moreover, flowering times of escaped populations, as well as the fertile condition of the majority of collections suggest that these populations are established and persistent outside of cultivation