Visual representation of recent M&A trends in the pharma sector.
The pharma industry in 2023 has been marked by an uptick of M&A activity. The year began with a relative frenzy of massive mergers. Pfizer’s $43 billion acquisition of Seagen and Amgen’s $27.8 billion purchase of Horizon Therapeutics earlier in the year were notable examples. But that initial spike of billion-dollar megamergers significantly cooled in the second quarter.
Looking at the M&A activity in pharma in Q2 2023, the deal size of transactions in Q2 2023 were notably smaller, too. Check out the scatter plot below. The largest M&A transaction in the second quarter of the year was Novartis’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Chinook Therapeutics. This trend indicates that companies are prioritizing smaller, more strategic acquisitions to diversify their portfolios.
Deals could pick up in the second half of…