Health Care M&A Exploded in July

The fireworks didn’t end on the Fourth of July, at least for the health care M&A market. Preliminary data shows deal volume rose 16% to 121 deals, compared with June’s 104 deals. Thanks to the mega-deals among health insurers and generic drug makers, deal value was approximately $166.6 billion, up 883% over June’s $16.9 billion. A full report will be published in the August issue of Health Care M&A News. Top 5 Health Care M&A Deals in July 2015 AcquirerTargetPrice Anthem, Inc. Cigna Corporation$54.2 billion Teva PharmaceuticalsAllergan Generics$40.5 billion AetnaHumana Inc. $37.0 billion Celgene CorporationReceptos, Inc. $7.2 billion Centene CorporationHealth Net, Inc. $6.8... Read More »

Celgene Continues Its Buying Spree

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) made yet another major acquisition last week, picking up Receptos, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCPT) for $7.2 billion. The acquisition significantly boosts Celgene’s Inflammation and Immunology portfolio with the addition of Receptos’ lead product candidate, Ozanimod, which is in Phase 3 tests to treat immune-inflammatory indications in irritable bowel syndrome and relapsing multiple sclerosis. This is Celgene’s biggest deal in 2015, out of the six it has announced. So far, the drug maker has splurged nearly $8.8 billion on acquisitions, collaborations with other drug makers and licensing deals. Read More »