Six pharma deals announced thus far in 2016 carried up-front values of $1 billion or more, down considerably from the high-volume, high-value M&A industry experienced the prior two years. Pharma manufacturers appear to be recalibrating – digesting previous acquisitions, adjusting to new biotech valuations and taking stock of the political and macro-economic climate – but fundamentals suggest pharma dealmaking will pick up. Pfizer’s $14 billion offer for Medivation might represent a turning point.

The year was marked by record levels of biopharma M&A activity and a strong IPO market. Measures designed to deliver early access to new medicines continued to advance on both sides of the Atlantic, while pricing came in for renewed attention as new, highly effective but extremely expensive products reached the market.

Biopharma financing dropped 22% in Q3 to $5.65 billion. In the largest M&A, Roche bulked up on rare diseases, gaining Esbriet through its $8 billion takeover of InterMune; Sanofi dominated in alliance dealmaking.