This year's global pharmaceutical and biotech mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market was marked by "larger transaction size" and "strategic asset acquisition."
Amid rising uncertainty in the industry environment, including tariff, interest rate, and drug pricing policies, global corporations such as France's Sanofi, U.S. corporation Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), and U.S. Pfizer drew attention by moving to acquire assets worth trillions of won.
According to market research firm GlobalData on the 28th, the cumulative M&A transaction value in the global pharmaceutical and biotech sector this year reached $179.6 billion (about 259 trillion won), up about 31% from the previous year's $137.1 billion. The figure was compiled through the 15th, and the final data will be released early next year.
Compared with the previous year, the number of transactions this year is similar, but the total transaction value has increased. In the first half, uncertainty over U.S. tariff, interest rate, and drug pricing policies led to a slowdown in the pharmaceutical M&A market. However, as global big pharma companies carried out a series of acquisition investments in the second half, some say global M&A market transactions are gradually recovering.
◇ Big pharma, filling the patent cliff with M&A
The corporations pursuing multi-trillion-won acquisitions share a common challenge: they need to reduce dependence on existing product sales and find growth engines after blockbuster drugs lose patent protection.
A prime example is France's pharmaceutical corporation Sanofi. Sanofi announced three acquisition transactions in just the second half of the year. The combined transaction value totals 18 trillion won.
On the 24th (local time), Sanofi said it would acquire U.S. vaccine corporation Dynavax Technologies for about $2.2 billion (about 3.14 trillion won). Through this transaction, Sanofi secured Dynavax's already marketed adult hepatitis B vaccine and a clinical phase 1 and 2 shingles vaccine candidate.
Sanofi appears to be strengthening its adult vaccine portfolio and aiming to enter the shingles vaccine market. Currently, the only commercialized shingles vaccines are GSK plc's recombinant vaccine "Shingrix" and SK bioscience's "Sky Zoster."
In June and July, Sanofi said it would acquire U.S. biotech corporation Blueprint Medicines, which has candidates for rare and immune diseases, for up to $9.5 billion (about 13 trillion won), and U.K. vaccine developer VaxBio for $1.5 billion (about 2 trillion won), respectively.
Patents on Sanofi's atopic dermatitis and asthma treatment Dupixent are set to expire in 2031, and the moves are seen as a strategy to prepare. Dupixent's annual sales last year reached 13.072 billion euros (about 22 trillion won).
U.S. pharmaceutical corporation AbbVie signed a deal in Aug. to acquire, for up to $1.2 billion (about 1.72 trillion won), the depression treatment candidate program of mental illness drug developer Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals.
In Oct., BMS acquired cell therapy developer Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion (about 2.15 trillion won) in cash. The U.S. patent for AbbVie's autoimmune disease treatment Humira expired in 2023, and the key compound patent for BMS's anticoagulant Eliquis expired last year.
◇ Obesity and metabolic disease acquisition race heats up
This year saw feverish acquisition activity in obesity and metabolic disease treatments. U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Denmark's Novo Nordisk competed to acquire U.S. biotech corporation Metsera, which is developing an oral obesity drug, with Pfizer prevailing. The transaction amount agreed by Pfizer and Metsera reaches $10 billion (about 14.34 trillion won).
Pfizer has faced declining sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatments, and it is aiming to enter the obesity treatment market through the Metsera acquisition.
Novo Nordisk said in Oct. it would acquire Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion (about 7.46 trillion won).
Through the deal, Novo secured efruxifermin, a new drug candidate in development by Akero to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). MASH is a disease in which fat accumulates in the liver and inflammation and damage occur due to metabolic dysfunction, unrelated to alcohol consumption. With aging populations and rising obesity, the number of patients is increasing worldwide. Currently, only two MASH treatments have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), making it a field considered a blue ocean.
Global patents for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo's blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy, will begin expiring next year in India, China, and Canada, among others, and the company is ramping up efforts to secure strategic assets in preparation.
◇ K-bio moves to secure U.S. production bases
Korean corporations responded to U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals by purchasing U.S. drug manufacturing plants that came onto the M&A market.
Samsung Biologics said this month that it signed a contract with GSK plc to acquire the "Human Genome Sciences (HGS)" biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland. The acquisition price is $280 million (about 414.7 billion won). According to the company, the facility is a 60,000-liter drug substance (DS) plant. Comprising two manufacturing buildings, it has the infrastructure to support antibody drug production at various scales from clinical to commercial.
Samsung Biologics had been cautious about acquiring or expanding overseas plants, but the acquisition decision is seen as factoring in U.S. tariff policies on pharmaceuticals and the passage of the de facto "Biosecurity Act" aimed at curbing Chinese biotech corporations.
In Sept., Celltrion signed a deal with Eli Lilly and Company to acquire a U.S. local production facility for about $330 million (460 billion won). Celltrion plans to invest a total of 1.4 trillion won, including 700 billion won for the plant acquisition and operation and 700 billion won for expansion.
Industry observers said, "By securing production bases in the United States, they have completely resolved tariff risk." Others noted, however, that "compared to state-of-the-art large-scale production facilities, the acquired plants are less competitive, making additional investment for expansion or modernization unavoidable."
There is also an outlook that the global pharmaceutical and biotech M&A market will continue next year in a similar vein to this year.
Samil PwC said in a report, "In 2025, transactions centered on specific assets to fill pipeline gaps were the main trend," and added, "M&A in 2026 will unfold around securing innovative assets with clinical data and scientific differentiation, rather than an increase in the number of transactions."
PwC also said, "Flexible transaction structures such as minority equity investments and stepwise option arrangements will expand," and predicted, "If uncertainty in the regulatory, interest rate, and trade environment eases, global pharmaceutical companies are likely to again actively use M&A to reshape portfolios and execute growth strategies."