Illumina-Grail decision sees the European Union lean in to "innovation"

23 September 2022 00:00

Duration: 12:44

In a decision that ricocheted around the world this month, the European Commission announced it had blocked the $8 billion Illumina-Grail merger. Arguing that Illumina’s acquisition of Grail, a cancer-testing company, would stifle innovation, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager appeared to be harking back to a theory of harm that was the talk of the town back in the late 2010s, when the Dow-Dupont and Bayer-Monsanto deals were making headlines. More importantly, though, the European Commission’s decision leaves the EU out of sync with the US, where a court has overturned a regulator’s attempt to block the deal.

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James Panichi
Natalie McNelis

James Panichi Senior Editor, Asia Pacific

James Panichi

James, an Australian journalist with over 25 years’ experience in print and electronic media, helps to oversee MLex’s coverage of regulatory risk in Asia, with special attention to Australia and New Zealand. In 2016, James was appointed as MLex’s managing editor for continental Europe, overseeing the Brussels bureau’s coverage of EU regulatory affairs and managing a team of 16 journalists in Brussels and Geneva. Previously James worked for the European Voice newspaper, before joining the... Read more

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Natalie McNelis Senior Correspondent

Natalie McNelis

Natalie McNelis covers mergers for MLex in Brussels. Before joining MLex in 2017, she spent 20 years as an international trade and competition lawyer in law firms including Stibbe and WilmerHale. Natalie has a BA in English from Mount Holyoke College, a JD from Harvard Law School and an LLM in EU law from KU Leuven. She is admitted to the bar in New York.

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