The past few years have certainly gotten the biotech industry used to seeing multiple acquisition deals well over $1 billion, particularly among drug developers. While M&A activity was strong in 2011, the number of those huge blockbuster agreements seems to be lower. Sanofi came in at number 1 with its $20.1 billion buy of Genzyme—about half of the $41 billion that last year’s top-spender, Novartis, paid for Alcon. The top-five list for 2011 ends with Forest Laboratories’ $1.2 billion purchase of Clinical Data, while last year the fifth place went to Daiichi Sankyo when it bought Ranbaxy for $4.6 billion. Do you expect mega mergers to return in full force next year? What’s your forecast for M&A activity among biopharmaceutical companies for 2012?
Poll Question:
Do you think M&A activity among drug developers in 2012 will surpass 2011?
Yes
41
No
12
Undecided
5
