October round-up of pharma/biotech M&A activity

With the US elections looming, October was a quiet month for mergers and acquisitions in pharma and biotech.

The biggest buys included ICU Medical's $1 billion purchase of Hospira Infusion Systems from US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), aimed at creating a pure-play infusion therapy company with estimated pro forma combined revenues of around $1.45 billion.

There was also Japan’s Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) buying of German biopharma company Ganymed Pharmaceuticals in a deal that could be worth up to 1.28 billion euros ($1.4 billion). The Tokyo-based company acquires the oncology treatment IMAB362, which it sees as a potential complementary product to its blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi (enzalutamide).