{"id":588634,"date":"2023-06-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/06\/14\/ma-boom-for-big-pharma\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T00:00:00","slug":"ma-boom-for-big-pharma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/06\/14\/ma-boom-for-big-pharma\/","title":{"rendered":"M&A boom for big pharma"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>Pharma bucks the trend with M&A spree:<\/span> Global pharma and biotech companies <\/span>more than doubled their spend on acquisitions in the first five months of the year, according to a report by investment bank Stifel picked up by the <\/span>Financial Times<\/a><\/span>. Companies shelled out USD 85 bn on acquisitions during the five-month period, up from just USD 35.6 bn in the same period last year and USD 49.1 bn in 2021. Pfizer, Merck, and Sanofi have all announced multi-bn USD acquisitions this year, fueled by the large cash reserves accumulated during the covid-19 pandemic. Pfizer\u2019s <\/span>USD 43 bn takeover<\/a><\/span> of cancer drugmaker Seagen accounted for more than half of global M&A during the five-month period.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another:<\/span> Novartis will acquire Seattle-based biotech firm Chinook Therapeutics for up to <\/span>USD 35 bn under an agreement <\/span>announced<\/a><\/span> by the Swiss pharma giant yesterday. The transaction is expected to close in 2H 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pharma an outlier:<\/span> Other sectors have seen a sharp drop in M&A activity due to rising <\/span>borrowing costs and tighter lending. The value of global M&A <\/span>slumped to a 10-year low<\/a><\/span> in the first quarter of the year. <\/span><\/p>\n

ALSO WORTH NOTING-<\/span><\/p>\n