The pharmaceutical industry is inherently uncertain, driven by high dispersion in the value realized by successful bets in comparison to those that fail. Speaking in the language of finance, operating a business in pharmaceutical industry is akin to investing in microcaps, where one invests in assets based on ultra long-term growth outlook, strong competitive positioning…
S&P report highlights Big Pharma’s concentration risk amid pre-JPM deal flurry
Merck is an A+ credit, a global oncology powerhouse, and still, about half its 2024 pharma revenue came from a single product: Keytruda, a product whose loss of exclusivity will hit around 2028 in the U.S. S&P Global Ratings calls that kind of concentration a “material weakness.” Merck isn’t alone. A new S&P analysis of…
Pharma M&A, China deals and GLP-1s: What to watch in 2026
The pharmaceutical industry heads into 2026 carrying strong M&A momentum, a surging Chinese deal landscape and continued buzz around obesity drugs and new modalities. Deals involving Chinese pharma and biotech firms reached $92.2 billion in potential value through November 2025. That’s nearly double the $51.9 billion recorded in 2024, according to Mark Lansdell, Director, Asset…
2025 pharma M&A surges to $70 billion in major deals
Novo Nordisk’s $5.2 billion acquisition of Akero Therapeutics sits at the center of 2025’s hottest M&A space: MASH/metabolic disease. The deal, announced October 9, represents the largest of three major Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) analog acquisitions in five months. Across the broader landscape, 2025 pharma M&A activity reached approximately $70 billion in upfront consideration…