Pharmaceutical M&A activity declining slightly, reports Irving Levin Associates

A new five-and-a-half year pharmaceutical merger and acquisition report published by Irving Levin Associates reveals steady activity followed by a slight decline in the last 18 months.

M&A activity in the pharmaceutical sector of the health care industry proceeded at a fairly steady level in terms of the number of deals announced from January 2008 through 2010, which was consistent with the activity level for this sector for several prior years, with the exception of 2007, when the number of transactions spiked more than 25% to 180 announced deals in that year.

In 2011, the number of transactions faded by nearly 20% - a trend that appears to be continuing into 2012, as the 52 transactions announced in the first half of 2012 are about 10% less than the 58 announced in the first half of 2011.