Senators urge tough U.S. review of Pfizer bid for AstraZeneca

Six U.S. senators asked antitrust regulators to take a hard look at Pfizer Inc's plan to buy rival AstraZeneca PLC if the two companies reach a deal, saying they had \"significant concerns\" about how the proposed transaction would affect consumers. AstraZeneca, formed in 1999 from the merger of Sweden's Astra and Britain's Zeneca, has rejected a $106 billion offer from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, but Pfizer has not given up and a possible deal has raised concerns in Europe and the United States. \"Should a merger or acquisition ultimately be accepted by AstraZeneca, whether under the terms of that offer or any subsequent offer, we want to bring to your attention our significant concerns with the potentially harmful impact to consumers that would result,\" the senators said in a letter. The senators, all Democrats, said that a 2009 deal by Pfizer to buy Wyeth Laboratories was followed by a Pfizer decision to close research and development sites.