IQVIA Sued by FTC to Block Acquisition in Health Ad Market (1)

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block IQVIA Holdings Inc.'s acquisition of Propel Media Inc., alleging the deal would lead to further consolidation in the health care programmatic advertising market and drive up prices.

IQVIA’s Lasso Marketing unit and Propel’s DeepIntent are two of the three leading programmatic advertising providers, the FTC said in a Monday announcement. The platforms target health care professionals with marketing for pharmaceutical drugs and other products.

The merger also would reduce quality and choice due to the loss of competition, the FTC alleged. The deal’s financial terms weren’t announced.

If the deal is ...