M&A trends, predictions and challenges for pharma and life sciences

Merlin Piscitelli, chief revenue officer for EMEA at Datasite, provides an Expert View on M&A trends and predictions for deal-making in life sciences, and some of the challenges we may expect.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in many industries and labor markets, and the life sciences sector is no exception. In fact, according to an Ernst & Young (EY) report, 89% of life science companies say profits declined in 2020 and two-thirds said they cancelled or failed to fulfil a planned acquisition during the same period.

Still, despite these unfavorable market conditions, the industry has adapted at rapid pace. The life sciences sector has re-bounded to record its highest growth in terms of the number of M&A deals in first-quarter 2021, marked by a surge of initial public offerings (IPOs) and strong deal flow. New life sciences projects on Datasite’s platform, which are deals at their inception, rather than announced, have increased 81% month to date (June 20, 2021), so far this year, compared to the same time a year ago.