Life Sciences Mergers and Acquisitions Firepower Report (EY)

Summary

• Total life sciences M&A deal value reached US$191 billion by mid-December 2023, representing a 34% increase compared to 2022.p.3
• Big pharma companies dominated dealmaking in 2023, executing nearly 70% of total life sciences M&A volume.p.3
• Overall biopharma transaction count recorded 118 deals in 2023 compared to 126 deals in 2022.p.5
• Pfizer executed the largest transaction of 2023 by agreeing to acquire Seagen for US$43 billion.p.6
• MedTech M&A spending dropped 28% to US$34 billion across 46 completed deals up to December 10, 2023.p.6
• The biopharma industry held US$1.37 trillion in total M&A Firepower as of December 2023.p.9
• The top 25 biopharma companies face an estimated growth gap of US$120 billion by 2028 due to loss of patent exclusivity.p.10

Key insights

1. Big pharma contributed 69% of total life sciences M&A spend in 2023, up from 38% in 2022.p.5
2. The average biopharma deal size increased by 77% in 2023 compared with the previous year.p.5
3. MedTech represented only 18% of life sciences M&A spend in 2023, well below its five-year average of 26%.p.6
4. Targets with late-stage or marketed assets accounted for 60% of all innovative drug acquisitions in the first 11 months of 2023.p.14
5. Oncology is projected to drive US$142 billion or 35% of total biopharma market growth between 2022 and 2028.p.16
6. High demand for oncology assets drove enterprise value-to-sales acquisition multiples to an average of 11.9 times.p.17
7. Endocrine and metabolic therapeutic areas are projected to expand by US$78 billion over five years, fueled by GLP-1 receptor agonists.p.18
8. New clinical modalities are expected to account for 27% of oncology market growth and 9% of total biopharma growth through 2028.p.21