Mergers and acquisitions have long been a vehicle for growth in the pharmaceutical industry. They allow major companies to rapidly expand their research and development pipelines and grow their portfolios into new therapeutic areas while giving emerging biotech companies a quick and profitable exit or the opportunity to become part of a larger brand.
This trend has increased in recent years as large pharmaceutical companies look for new sources of revenue, replacing blockbuster drugs reaching their patent cliffs with proven marketed drugs and new breakthrough therapies carrying big price tags and few competitors.
In 2019, the pharmaceutical industry saw a record-breaking 1,276 deals for mergers and acquisitions totaling $411 billion. And despite the global coronavirus pandemic, deals have continued to close in 2020.
