Last April, the European Commission's Directorate-General of Competition announced that it plans to review the deal under its controversial new guidance that enables the Commission to demand notification of a deal even when no such notification is required by the member states. "The combined [Illumina/Grail] entity "could restrict access to or increase prices of next-generation sequencers and reagents to the detriment of Grail's rivals active in genomic cancer tests following the transaction," according to a Commission statement. Now a U.S. federal court has allowed the FTC to postpone legal action to block the deal pending resolution of the situation in Europe. Thus, even if it beats back the frying pan of the EC challenge, Illumina could be stepping into the fire of FTC regulatory action and litigation. All the while, the clock ticks down to the contractual deadline that the deal close by the end of the year.