The tests’ arrival epitomized the Biden administration’s shambolic pandemic response. When Biden — who had promised in 2020 to “shut down the virus” — announced on December 21, 2021 that his administration would purchase and distribute 500 million rapid, at-home tests to Americans, it was already too little too late. And when my tests were delivered weeks later, cases of the Omicron variant — which had spread unabated throughout the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations — were already plummeting. . . .
Rachel Chiu of the Committee for Justice on how the FTC obstructs innovation by blocking mergers:
After biotechnology company Illumina announced its acquisition of cancer-screening startup Grail for approximately $8 billion, the FTC moved to block the deal based on its theory that the merger would “diminish innovation in the U.S. market for multi-cancer early detection tests,” even though this market does not yet exist. The new blood-testing technology that was enabled by the deal between the two companies was the first of its kind and had not been brought to market because it was still being researched. The commission further reasoned that Illumina might keep a tight hold on its patented technology or raise prices for competitors. Never mind that Illumina offered its customers twelve-year commitments for supply contracts that guaranteed price decreases, binding arbitration to resolve disputes, and access to Illumina’s products on the same terms as Grail receives.
In other words, FTC regulators lacked evidence of any harm from the merger but were attempting to undo it anyway. . . .