Biotechnology Deals Will Surpass 2015’s Record
Deal volume in the Biotechnology sector is poised to surpass last year’s record-setting 160 transactions. With two weeks left in 2016, deal volume has reached 159 transactions. The activity in this sector shows no signs of abating, and will probably carry through the first half of 2017, at least. Big Pharma companies are driving the M&A activity, as they actively compete for promising drug candidates to bolster their aging pipelines. A case in point is a deal that hasn’t been announced yet, but that the industry is watching with interest. French pharma company Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) is reported to be deep into acquisition talks with Swiss... Read More »What Private Equity Firms Are Buying in 2016
Private equity’s success relies upon forward-looking expectations about which firms are best positioned to capitalize on market conditions. The healthcare market poses unique challenges. Although healthcare targets may have the profit opportunities that appeal to PE firms, the volatile legislative and reimbursement environment can turn a “smart bet” into an albatross. A recent report from McKinsey & Company on private equity and healthcare showed that healthcare investments returned the highest global total returns to shareholders (15% between 2010 and 2015). The consumer staples category came closest to that return, with 13% in the same time period. Within the healthcare market,... Read More »Biotech Boomed Even Before Trump’s Election
Now that Donald Trump has transitioned from presidential candidate to president-elect, his pro-business views have cheered many deal makers. His “repeal and replace” pronouncements regarding the Affordable Care Act have chilled some areas of the healthcare market, but others are thriving. Biotechnology is one sector that was already experiencing a boom in mergers and acquisitions, prior to November 8. Third-quarter deal volume surged 58%, to 52 transactions. Sixteen deals were recorded in October 2016, and in the first two weeks of November, 12 are already in our database. Ten of those are license agreements, as pharmaceutical companies swoop in to claim promising product... Read More »NASH-Driven Deals Pile Up
On November 10, 2016, Bristol-Meyers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) purchased the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Nitto Denko Corporation’s (TYO: 6988) investigational siRNA, which includes Nitto’s lead asset ND-L02-s0201. Nitto’s lead asset ND-L02-s0201 is currently in a five-week open-label Phase 1b study in patients with advanced fibrosis (F3-F4c) due to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or hepatitis C. Nitto Denko received a $100 million upfront payment as part of the license agreement, and it is not the first company to cash in on its product candidates for the possible treatment of NASH. NASH is characterized by fatty infiltration of the liver not caused by alcohol,... Read More »October M and A Settles into Second Place
What’s a synonym for “slowdown?” We’re as tired of writing about monthly deal volume dropping off as you probably are of reading about it. But M&A activity in October 2016 can only be summed up as slackening, declining, decelerating. Preliminary deal volume is now at the second-lowest level of the year, just 112 transactions. Only January’s deal volume was lower, at 104 transactions. We may have a few additions to October’s total as the fourth quarter grinds on, but it’s not typical to find another 15 deals. Deal value also dropped off. At $12.8 billion, it ranks as the second-lowest level of spending for the year. July 2016 still holds the honor of being the slowest month for... Read More »Schedule a demo
Gain access to the best healthcare and long-term care investment intelligence, data, and analysis.
