Deal making in life sciences held steady in Q3’21 but was still on track to surpass 2020’s record performance.
Life sciences companies continue to pursue access to innovation through M&A. There were fewer megadeals, but there has been a steady flow of smaller transactions, including partnerships and minority investments. Large biopharma companies are divesting slow-growth assets to fund investments in faster-growth areas such as cell and gene therapy and mRNA. (Please see the interactive charts below for key statistics.)
In this Q3’21 analysis of deals in life sciences, we find:
- Deal making continues to be shaped by the effects of the pandemic. Companies that experienced windfall profits from testing and vaccination are on the hunt.
- Pharma wraparound services have been a hotbed of deal activity as companies position themselves for the future.
- Cell and gene therapies continue to be a favored target—and the acquirers increasingly include players not formerly associated with such cutting-edge technologies.
LS overall Deal Volume and Deal Value
Biopharmaceuticals Deal Volume and Deal Value
Devices Deal Volume and Deal Value
Diagnostics Deal Volume and Deal Value
Health Care Distributors Deal Volume and Deal Value
Life Sciences Tools, Services Deal Volume and Deal Value
Looking ahead, we expect more of the same through yearend, but there are also reasons to believe deal making in life sciences could slow further. Many companies are leery of the FTC’s new focus on pharma deals. And there is always execution risk. Acquirers, especially of early-stage innovation targets, need to focus on making the science succeed and dealing with complex integration challenges.
In this quarterly report, we unpack these trends as well as provide deep dives on two key areas:
Download the full report to uncover what is happening in these dynamic industries, how deals are being done today—and why.
