Litigating Vertical Mergers: Innovation Dynamics from Illumina-Grail
GAICIL Insights
Illumina-Grail was a rare event: the FTC blocked a vertical merger and the Fifth Circuit sustained the ruling. The article reads the case as a turning point for vertical deals in research-driven markets, where the competition that matters is over future products and markets are still emerging.
It examines how the criteria for defining relevant markets and assessing harm are shifting in R&D-oriented industries, and the controversial dismissal of Illumina’s proposed remedies and efficiencies. AI supply chains are vertical by nature, from chips and cloud to models and applications, so the burden-shifting framework the article dissects is the one AI deals will meet.
Abstract
Illumina-Grail represents an important moment in antitrust litigation, reshaping the legal landscape for vertical mergers in innovation-driven markets. This Article analyzes the Federal Trade Commission’s uncommon achievement in blocking the Illumina-Grail merger—a ruling sustained by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals—emphasizing its significant ramifications for antitrust legislation. The case examines the complex dynamics of innovation competition and emerging market definition, challenging established doctrines regarding the inherently procompetitive nature of vertical mergers. This Article examines the changing criteria for defining relevant markets and evaluating competitive harm in research and development-oriented industries. It also discusses the Fifth Circuit’s support of the FTC’s strategy, including the controversial dismissal of Illumina’s suggested remedies and efficiencies. To be sure, Illumina-Grail highlights the increased scrutiny on vertical mergers, as they are instrumental in shaping a given innovation policy but also market dynamics and the burden-shifting framework in antitrust litigation.1
Takeaway
“Illumina-Grail highlights the increased scrutiny on vertical mergers, as they are instrumental in shaping a given innovation policy but also market dynamics and the burden-shifting framework in antitrust litigation.”
Quoted verbatim from the author’s abstract.
Notes
- Aurelien Portuese, Litigating Vertical Mergers: Innovation Dynamics from Illumina-Grail, 82 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. Online 374 (2025), https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr-online/vol82/iss5/2/. Abstract quoted verbatim from the publisher’s page, https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr-online/vol82/iss5/2/. ↩
Cite as: Aurelien Portuese, Litigating Vertical Mergers: Innovation Dynamics from Illumina-Grail, 82 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. Online 374 (2025), https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr-online/vol82/iss5/2/
Header image: Illumina MiSeq sequencer 2.jpg by Konrad Förstner, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
