Despite COVID, Pharma Deals Set Records

Mega-deals were few last year, but pharmaceutical deal-making hit record levels. Nearly 2,000 transactions were recorded in 202 with a value of almost $200 billion.

One in five deals involved some aspect of COVID treatment or prevention, though these accounted for less than 3% of the total deal value,” says a new report from the biosciences intelligence group Cortellis. “Consistent with the historic trend, oncology remains the most attractive therapeutic area for deal making.”

A blockbuster year for biopharma deal making says that 2020 “ended up being a solid year for the biopharmaceutical industry. Records were broken by financing transactions, and several deals and M&As fell within the highest values on record.”

The biggest M&A deal was AbbVie’s $63 billion acquisition of Allergan. Though it closed during the year, the purchase was announced well before the SAR-CoV-2 virus first appeared. A second mega-deal — AstraZeneca’s buyout of Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion – was announced in December but won’t close until late this year.

However, most of the 147 M&A transactions were smaller, collectively totaling $181.3 billion, far below the banner $256 billion in 2015 and 19% below 2019. The report says “About 82% of the M&As were “bolt-ons” or those in which an acquirer was attaching itself to needed technology. The rest were financial, expansion and mega-deals.”

Though M&A activity was slower than in the past, the1,580 financing transactions were 42% higher than 2019. According to the report, “Collectively, global public and private biopharmaceutical companies raised approximately $134 billion, which is almost double the previous record of approximately $69 billion set in 2015. It is also greater than the combined amount generated in 2018 and 2019.”

The largest share of the global financings (70%) went to US companies, with firms based in California and Massachusetts capturing $34.1 billion and $26.8 billion, respectively. New York trailed the two leaders with $6.7 billion.

Summarizing the year, the report points to the “culture of collaboration that developed between competitors” driven by the need to develop COVID treatments and vaccines.

“It will be interesting to see whether this newfound enthusiasm for cooperation can be adapted to tackle other major unmet medical needs. Continued deal-making can only strengthen this collaborative spirit within the biopharma ecosystem, benefiting shareholders and patients alike.”

Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash

Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?
General Interest Healthcare Pharma

Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?

Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching
Accounting + Finance Architecture + Engineering Financial Services General Interest Healthcare Human Resources Information Technology Legal Support Marketing Technology Pharma Professional Support

Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman
General Interest Green Key News Information Technology Leadership + Management

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman

Navigating the Tech Interview Maze: A Guide to Success
General Interest Information Technology

Navigating the Tech Interview Maze: A Guide to Success

Green Key Unlocked: How to Succeed in Payroll Management
Accounting + Finance General Interest Human Resources Leadership + Management

Green Key Unlocked: How to Succeed in Payroll Management

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Jenny Rehkugler
Accounting + Finance General Interest

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Jenny Rehkugler

Handling Mistakes & Failure in the Workplace
General Interest Worklife

Handling Mistakes & Failure in the Workplace

How to Support Those Affected by Hawai’i Wildfires 
Green Key News

How to Support Those Affected by Hawai’i Wildfires 

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Halle Sarfin
Green Key News Professional Support

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Halle Sarfin

Advantages of Offering Exit Interviews
General Interest Human Resources

Advantages of Offering Exit Interviews

Tracking Metrics: Learning & Development
General Interest Leadership + Management Worklife

Tracking Metrics: Learning & Development

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Leanna Gallagher
Green Key News Human Resources

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Leanna Gallagher

How to Beat the Summer Productivity Slump
General Interest Leadership + Management Worklife

How to Beat the Summer Productivity Slump

Questions to Ask When Hiring a Recruiter
General Interest Leadership + Management Worklife

Questions to Ask When Hiring a Recruiter

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Chianté Vidal
Architecture + Engineering Green Key News

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Chianté Vidal

Celebrating 10 Years of GKR in Rockville
Green Key News Leadership + Management Professional Support

Celebrating 10 Years of GKR in Rockville

Internal Mobility: Retaining Top Talent
General Interest

Internal Mobility: Retaining Top Talent

Green Key Unlocked: The Future of Telemedicine & Virtual Healthcare
General Interest Healthcare Information Technology

Green Key Unlocked: The Future of Telemedicine & Virtual Healthcare

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Melissa Sanchez
General Interest Green Key News Healthcare Leadership + Management

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Melissa Sanchez

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Rory Valan
General Interest Green Key News Information Technology Worklife

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Rory Valan

Latest Blog Posts
View All Posts
Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?

Is Covid-19 Back or Are We Just Seeing a Surge in Cases?

With the recent increase in hospitalizations and Covid-19 cases across the U.S. the question of How to protect ourselves and...
Read More
Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching

Strategic Networking: A Secret Weapon in Job Searching

Networking is more than connecting with other professionals on LinkedIn or collecting contacts; it's about building relationships that can lead...
Read More
#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Justin Nadelman

Almost seven years since he first joined Green Key, Justin has seized many growth opportunities in his role and truly...
Read More