Despite a temporary slowdown during the early days of the pandemic, the pharma sector has witnessed a steady rise in M&A activity over the years. The number of deals climbed from 23 in 2018 to 43 in 2022. Major players driving this trend include Sanofi, Merck & Co. and Novartis. Those three players have made significant acquisitions to bolster core assets and capabilities in specialized areas such as immunology, oncology and gene therapy.
For instance, in 2022, Merck acquired Prometheus Biosciences for $11 billion to strengthen its presence in immunology, while Sanofi purchased Provention Bio for roughly $2.9 billion to add a first-in-class therapy for type 1 diabetes. Novartis has also been on the hunt, with approximately $31 billion in deals since 2018 that have strengthened its Innovative Medicines portfolio.
Bar chart showing the top 10 most active pharmaceutical companies in M&A activity fr…