On April 29, 2021 Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) reported that it has filed an action in the General Court of the European Union asking for annulment of the European Commission’s decision asserting jurisdiction to review Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL (Press release, Illumina, APR 29, 2021, View Source [SID1234578837]). The Commission asserted jurisdiction to review the acquisition under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation on April 19, 2021, seven months after the deal was announced.

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"The European Commission’s unprecedented and untimely decision to review this procompetitive acquisition without proper engagement with the parties leaves businesses uncertain as to how the EU Merger Regulation will be applied," said Charles Dadswell, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Illumina. "The Commission’s actions will stifle innovation, fail patients and increase healthcare costs by needlessly delaying this transaction. The acquisition will allow Illumina to bring GRAIL’s lifesaving testing to more patients, more quickly and at a lower cost."

While the Court process is ongoing, Illumina will continue to work with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition to bring the review to a conclusion as quickly as possible.