Biopharma merger and acquisition value for the fourth quarter of 2023 reached $63bn from 34 transactions, 23 of which had disclosed values. Making up 22% of that total was Bristol Myers Squibb’s proposed $14bn buy of neuroscience-focused Karuna Therapeutics, expected to close in the first half of 2024. This deal and nine other M&A transactions hit or exceeded the billion-dollar mark during Q4 (see Exhibit 1).
The BMS/Karuna deal was the largest of the quarter and the second-highest M&A of the year (behind Pfizer's $43bn...