Pharma Deals Slid in Q1:17

by | May 15, 2017 8:55 pm | Pharmaceuticals | 0 comments

Deal making in the pharmaceutical sector slid further in the first quarter, down 12% to 29 deals, compared with the previous quarter, and down 28% compared with the same quarter a year ago. This quarter’s deal volume accounts for 20% of the 145 deals announced in the previous 12 months. President Trump has continued to malign this sector in social media tweets and in public speeches for the high price of some drugs, so it’s not surprising to see M&A slacking off, for the time being. Also, drug makers’ attention is directed toward their aging product pipelines, and most of the deal activity is going to acquire the rights to promising mid- and late-phase drug candidates. Source:... Read More »
Health Care Deals Cratered in February 2017

Health Care Deals Cratered in February 2017

by | Mar 3, 2017 5:44 pm | Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals | 0 comments

After a very strong performance in January 2017 with 160 transactions announced, February’s deal volume collapsed 45%, to just 88 transactions (see chart below). Compared with the same month a year ago, it’s was only down 30%, to 125 deals. Don’t forget, 2016 was a leap year, so an additional six more deals snuck into last year’s results on February 29. What difference that doesn’t make for this year’s results. Yes, it’s all because of the uncertainty around the fate of the Affordable Care Act. Many of the services sectors will be effected by what becomes of Medicaid, whether states will receive block grants, or some other solution. At least two of... Read More »

Perrigo Lets Go of Tysabri Royalties

by | Mar 1, 2017 8:23 pm | Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals | 0 comments

What goes around comes around. It doesn’t seem that long ago that the Dublin-based drug firm Elan Corporation plc was fighting off the hostile advances of Royalty Pharma. It was July 2013, in fact, when Elan agreed to be acquired by Perrigo (NYSE: PRGO) for $8.6 billion. To refresh the memory, Elan was a biotech company whose portfolio included royalties from Tysabri®, a multiple sclerosis treatment, and a neuropsychiatric pipeline with near-term value creation potential.  Early February 2013, Elan sold half of its rights to Tysabri to Biogen Idec, now known as Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB), for $3.25 billion. At the time, the terms called for $3.25 billion upfront cash plus 12% of... Read More »

M and A Slows in Pharma Sector in 2016

by | Jan 9, 2017 5:16 pm | Pharmaceuticals | 0 comments

The pharmaceutical industry has been the behemoth of healthcare M&A, usually accounting for the largest dollar amounts spent in any given year and often one of the most active in terms of number of transactions. But since its record year in 2014, this sector has been on a slow decline. Big Pharma deal volume dropped 9% since 2015, from 171 that year to 156 deals in 2016. Dollars spent slid even further, down 39%, from $138.4 billion in 2015 to just $84.45 billion in 2016. The Pharma sector is notorious for its multi-billion dollar mega deals. The largest pharma deal in 2016 is a prime example, as it was also the largest deal of the year. That was Shire plc’s... Read More »

Pharma M&A Is all about Options

by | May 11, 2016 8:42 am | Pharmaceuticals | 0 comments

The days of mega-mergers in the pharmaceutical sector aren’t necessarily over, but those deals will be fewer and farther between, going forward. Nearly 60 deals have been announced in 2016 through the middle of May, and just 17 have an entire company as the target. The largest, so far, is Shire’s (NASDAQ: SHPG) $32 billion takeover of Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT), announced in January. The rest are either collaborations on product candidates, rights or license deals for marketed products or clinical-stage candidates, even the rights to royalties. That’s Royalty Pharma’s $1.1 billion deal for the royalty interest in Xtandi, which is being sold by a co-owner, UCLA, where... Read More »