Dealmaking will continue to pick up in 2023, but don’t expect mega-mergers. That’s the message from many industry-watchers, chastened by a largely forgettable 2022 that failed to deliver the expected dealmaking frenzy as biotech valuations plunged. A more aggressive Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a still-fragile macro-economic environment, plus the uncertain specter of US drug price controls mean buyers are hesitant.
In 2022, total biopharma M&A reached about $80bn – nearly a third of which came from Amgen, Inc.’s proposed...