PAUL D’SOUZA
Pharmaceutical Industry Analyst, Cortellis, Clarivate Analytics, London, United Kingdom

During the first  quarter of 2019, Cortellis Deals Intelligence registered 124 new mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a 24% increase from 100, quarter on quarter vs. last year, as part of its ongoing coverage of M&A activity in the life sciences sector (see Figure 1). However, total disclosed deal value declined by 9% to $119.2 billion from $130.4 billion, although Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $74 billion approach for Celgene showed that mega mergers continue to be a real force in the current climate.

We tracked 24 new M&As worth in excess of $100 million with 12 of these worth more than $500 million each, contributing a total of $116.1 billion; 97.4% of the total disclosed figure of $119.2 billion (see Figure 2).

Pharmaceutical mega-mergers continued to dominate the quarter as the major players looked to combine pipelines, particularly in the gene-specific oncology and ocular space, enhance R&D, distribution and commercialization capabilities and improve market share. 

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) looked to strengthen its presence in the inflamma ...