2021 was not a bumper year for pharma and biotech M&A
Mergers and acquisitions among pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies announced in full year 2021 dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade, which may have been partly influenced by tougher regulations with competition authorities calling for significant divestments to green light deals.
According to The Pharma Letter’s (TPL) analysis, there were just 92 M&A deals in total, compared with 101 in 2020 and 111 in 2018, among which there were just 28 that exceeded $1 billion in value. The biggest deal announced was Australia’s CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) acquisition of Vifor Pharma, valued at $11.7 billion, compared with 2020’s $39 billion buy of Alexion by AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN). A flurry of deals announced in December – a total of 11 for the month - rescued the year’s figure.
Acquisitions had a strong focus on cell and gene therapy makers, as well as immune-oncology companies and rare disease drug developers, to boost the R&D pipelines of pharma majors.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
More on this story...
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
More Features in Biotechnology
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze