RE:"The reality is the boats are shaking" Analysts upbeat on biopharma M&A activity in 2024
According to PwC, the M&A activity in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector could continue humming in 2024. Despite a challenging interest rate environment, PwC projects the sector to see deal values ranging from $225 billion to $275 billion. Deal volume in 2023 was in line with pre-pandemic levels.
Leerink also expects biopharma M&A to stay elevated in 2024 as companies continue eyeing mergers, reverse mergers, and cash-out deals. The firm concluded that oncology was the top therapeutic area by deal value in 2023 with $49B across 11 deals. Rare disease and immunology rounded out the number two and three slots, respectively, by value. Leerink also noted that while overall healthcare M&A deal value dropped 10% and volume declined 34% between 2022 and 2023, biopharma remained the most active subsector, representing 58% of total deal value in 2023.
Big Pharma goes on a buying spree
In 2023, Big Pharmas emerged as especially hungry buyers, a reversal of the prior trend of strong buying activity from aggressive mid-sized firms. In 2023, companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca and AbbVie inked multiple billion-dollar plus deals spanning hot areas like oncology and gene therapy. The biggest deals by size included Pfizer’s $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, Amgen’s pending $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb’s $14 billion acquisition of Karuna Therapeutics and AbbVie’s $10.1 billion buyout of Immunogen.
https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/pharma-ma-activity-primed-for-another-high-flying-year-in-2024/