In the top May M&A by deal value, private equity firm The Carlyle Group agreed to buy UK-based CDMO Vectura Group for $1.36bn. Vectura had initially been developing its own therapeutic pipeline of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease candidates until its VR475, a drug-device combination for severe uncontrolled asthma, was halted following a late-stage study failure at the end of 2018. The company rebranded itself as a CDMO in the field of inhalation technology in 2019. Financing reached $5.7bn in biopharma, $519m in device, and $1.6bn in diagnostics.
Exhibit 2