As pharma leverages real-world uses of AI, the industry has also been careful about big-picture hype for the technology as some of its limitations become clear.
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After a yearslong hiatus, drugmakers are inching their way back to the dealmaking table. Biopharma M&A got off to a strong start in 2025 with deal volume up 37% in the first quarter compared to the average in 2024, according to a recent report from EY. But this isn’t the megamerger bonanza of the pre-2020s — dealmaking has shifted, with potential buyers “looking earlier in the product cycle, increasing strategic focus on the AI opportunity and tapping new opportunities including the new wave of innovation from China’s emergent biotech ecosystem,” EY analysts wrote.
Despite the reasonable uptick, pharma companies can still afford to wait a little longer for the right deal.
“It's such a challenging funding environment right now that all the leverage is with the folks with the money to buy — Big Pharma in particular,” said Rich Ramko, EY Americas life sciences sector and biotechnology leader, during an exclusive media panel. “For them, there's not a lot of downside to waiting. If there's a good deal, a good opportunity, it'll get jumped on. But if not, or if there's any uncertainty, there's no downside to waiting for the time being.”
Today, we’re looking at some of the biggest deals in the first half of the year and what they might mean for the future of biopharma M&A as the environment becomes more inviting. We’re also exploring the way a biotech seeks to treat cancer by fighting the forces of resistance that allow it to evade other drugs in some patients.
Thanks for reading.
Michael Gibney Senior Editor & Writer, PharmaVoice Email
The scientific and market success of flagship ADCs is paving the way for the modality to move into earlier lines of therapy for patients, as well as the next generation of targeted cancer medicines. Learn more in this Trendline.
The rundown from yesterday
Yesterday, we looked at what’s driving patients to stop taking GLP-1 medications, adding roadblocks to an otherwise lucrative corner of the market.
As the pharma industry stares down a historic patent cliff, macroeconomic headwinds and challenging R&D costs for increasingly complex medicines, nailing the launch of new medicines has become increasingly critical.
