The pace of merger and acquisition activity in the pharmaceutical industry is beginning to slow, following a period of steady deal making in recent years, according  to a new M&A report from Irving Levin Associates.
The report, which tracked deal making over a five-and-a-half year period, shows that  merger and acquisition activity in the pharmaceutical sector proceeded at a fairly steady level in terms of the number of deals announced from January 2008 through 2010. On average, there were about 138 deals annually throughout the period, valued at a total of $228 billion.
In 2011, the number of transactions faded by nearly 20 percent—a trend that appears to be continuing into 2012, as the 52 transactions announced in the first half of 2012 are about 10 percent less than the 58 announced in the first half of 2011.
