Who is next in big pharma's merger spree?

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Consolidation in the U.S. healthcare industry, which has already witnessed a str...

- Consolidation in the U.S. healthcare industry, which has already witnessed a string of multi-billion dollar deals, is expected to remain a major theme for the rest of 2019.

Regulators are pressuring companies to cut drug costs and takeovers have become the preferred method of combating looming patent expiries on some of the top-selling medicines they have relied upon in recent years. ** Recent deal was the $877 million buyout of gene therapy developer Nightstar Therapeutics, and as of June 30 the company still had cash reserves of almost $2 billion.** Lilly spun off its animal health unit earlier this year, and has reiterated its commitment to making bolt-on acquisitions to diversify its portfolio, as its long-term top-sellers Humalog and Cialis face intensifying competition.

** Analysts say that may still leave room for smaller deals like its $10.6 billion buy of Array Biopharma, which boosted its arsenal of oncology drugs and set the stage for the company to become a leader in colon cancer treatments.** A recent U.S. court ruling win on Amgen patents for rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel is seen as having left the company free to pursue business development plans, including M&A.

** Amgen had $5.53 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30. Shares of the company are up nearly 5% this year.** Investors have raised concerns about Merck’s increasing dependence on blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, highlighting the need for the drugmaker to engage in M&A.

 

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At first I read, 'Who is next in big pharmacy's murder spree.' I thought about opioids & then I looked at the source & only then did I correctly read, 'merger'. RandomMusing

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