Onlookers have long been calling for more consolidation among Europe's 130 or so public biotech firms, more than half of which have a market cap of less than $50 million (€44.5 million), and one quarter of which have less than 12 months' cash. The recent spate of activity suggests their wishes may be coming true: according to Windhover's Strategic Intelligence Systems database, the number of M&A deals, both private and public, during the first eight months of 2003 already equals the total for the whole of 2002.
But some transactions in Europe appear as last-resort bids for survival, focused heavily on securing cash and cutting costs, rather...