Volume is up but value is down. That’s the headline of the dealmaking scene for the first half of 2024. There’s not been a mega-merger in the vein of 2023’s Pfizer/Seagen deal, though the Novo/Catalent deal aimed at boosting supplies of the semaglutide products Ozempic and Wegovy is certainly notable. Even so, the 18% increase in the number of M&A deals isn’t enough to fill the value gap which is down by 44%.
There is of course, more to dealmaking than M&A. The pharmaceutical industry thrives – in fact relies – on a range of deal types to keep pipelines filled and biotechs’ lights on. Alliance deals are following the same pattern, though to a much lesser degree, with a 6% increase in deal volume and a 7% decrease in deal value.
This is very much the topline view, but it is these observations and the conclusion that Pharma seems to be focusing on smaller acquisitions and partnering is what drove our decision to investigate trends in alliance deals. There is much to unpick to get a sense of dealmaking trends in the current, competitive landscape. There’s far more than I can discuss in this blog post, but we will be getting into the detail in our upcoming webinar on 1st October.
In the session, my colleague, Duncan Sweeney and I will share some in-depth historical analyses of alliance deals by the therapy area, modality and regions that are driving dealmaking. We’ll also look at the trends around when in the development these deals are taking place. Derisking remains a priority but post-Covid an increasing proportion of top pharma deals focus on pre-clinical and phase I assets
There’s lots of data and insight to share, but we’re also looking forward to being joined by two guests at the sharp end of business development and licensing. Arun Bisht, Head of C&BD Excellent and Operations at Novartis and Moustapha El-Amine, VP, Head of Business Development at Insmed will help us consider these trends and share their views on what it means for 2025 and beyond.
It’s certain to be a fascinating discussion and we are looking forward to sharing it with our attendees. If you’re not yet registered, there’s still time to do so and you’ll find all the details here. Duncan and I hope to see you there!
