It’s hard to see a total of 370 deals in one quarter as a disappointment, but it may be, for some. That’s the current total of health care transactions we have for the last three months of 2015. Compared with the third quarter, however, the fourth quarter deal volume dropped almost 10%.

Deal volume in Q3:15 has reached 409 deals, topping the 400-transaction mark for the first time ever. Healthcare services made up a robust 67% of the deal volume in Q4:15, the segment’s strongest showing in the previous four quarters.

Thanks to the mega-deals in the Pharmaceutical segment, spending for the fourth quarter was $202.0 billion, up 1% compared with the third quarter’s $199.5 billion. Even with a total of $202 billion, Q4:15 spending was nearly 18% lower than the same quarter the year before. We doubt we’ll see the same figures a year from now.

pg. 7 Q415 chart