PwC predicts active 2024 for pharma deals as M&A value climbs

PwC has de­clared 2023 a “rea­son­ably strong year” for M&A in the phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal and life sci­ences sec­tor, de­spite a slight dip in over­all deal vol­ume and in­creased pres­sure from the FTC. Ex­pect that mo­men­tum to car­ry in­to 2024.

In its 2024 deals out­look re­port, PwC tracked 255 deals over the last 12 months, find­ing that the num­ber of deals is down 8% from the year pri­or. A good chunk of those were $1 bil­lion-plus ac­qui­si­tions made by phar­ma com­pa­nies strate­giz­ing how to fill gaps ahead of key patent ex­pi­ra­tions, in­clud­ing Mer­ck’s $10.8 bil­lion Prometheus takeover, which closed in June, and Pfiz­er’s $43 bil­lion Seagen deal, which ex­ec­u­tives say could close this week.

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