Pharma M&A deals in 2013 down, but values marginally higher

Merger and acquisition activity in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and generic drugs sectors continued steadily in 2013, but the days of mega mergers (such as the 2009 deals with Pfizer acquiring Wyeth for $68 billion and Merck & Co merging with Schering-Plough in a $41.1 billion deal) are clearly over, and perhaps never to be repeated, as the number of giant players has diminished.

In 2013, there were a total of 122 M&A deals, according to data collected by The Pharma Letter (see full table below), compared with 131 in 2012 and 129 in 2011. However, the value of deals over the first 11 months of 2013 reached $115.7 billion, compared with $101.1 billion in the like period of 2012, according to figures reported by venture capital firm Burrill & Co. Last year, the company’s chief executive Steven Burrill predicted that M&A in 2013 would increase by at least 20% with a pick-up in the economy, and that there would be at least one mega Big Pharma or Biotech merger last year.

18 deals worth $1 billion or more