Illumina-Grail decision sees the European Union lean in to "innovation"
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\u2019s 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\u2019s decision leaves the EU out of sync with the US, where a court has overturned a regulator\u2019s attempt to block the deal.