FTC: Pharma compound is too strong to swallow.(Triangle)

After nearly a yearlong engagement, Talecris Biotherapeutics Inc. and Australia-based CSL Ltd. broke up before reaching the altar. But not because they had a falling out. Blame a third party. CSL's $3.1 billion offer to buy Research Triangle Park-based Talecris, which makes medicine from blood plasma, ran afoul of the Federal Trade Commission, which worried that the deal would give CSL a near monopoly on blood-plasma drugs in the U.S. The two companies initially vowed to fight but backed off after weighing the costs. The news wasn't all bad for Talecris. The company, which employs 500 at its headquarters and 1,500 at its plant in Clayton, will collect a $75 million breakup fee from CSL.

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