Merger and acquisition (M&A) deal activity in the pharmaceutical sector rose by 17% in the first half (H1) of 2020, disregarding the economic toll of the global pandemic, a report said.

It saw a total of 41 deals during the period, but the Q2 2020 deal value total of $3.3 billion was the lowest quarterly total since Q1 2018, according to the research data analyzed and published by ComprarAcciones.com.

According to PwC, the pharma subsector posted a drop of 56% in deal value from H2 2019 to H1 2020. For the PLS sector as a whole (pharma, biotech and medical devices), the decline in deal value was a massive 87.2% during the same period.

Meanwhile, the  pharma and life sciences (PLS) sector saw M&A deal value sink from $272.9 billion to $35 billion year-on-year (YoY).

The total deal value for the pharmaceutical subsector in H1 2019 was $100.1 billion. In contrast, its total deal value in H1 2020 was valued at $7.7 billion.

The PLS sector had a total of 99 deals valued at $35 billion in H1 2020. In H2 2019, the figures were higher, with 129 deals valued at $86.5 billion. H1 2019 was even bigger, with 119 deals valued at a remarkable $272.9 billion.

For the healthcare industry as a whole, H2 2020 started off with 13 deals valued at $1 billion+ according to S&P Global.

On the other hand, based on a report from Global Data, the global M&A deal value started on a downtrend in Q1 2020. It went from $151.2 billion to $129.9 billion from February to March. Another study from S&P Global shows that the decline carried into Q2 2020, with a 35% drop in deal volume. Similarly, total transaction value dropped by 40%, the highest drop since 2015.

Comparing H1 2020 to H2 2019, the total deal volume sank by 32% year-over-year (YoY) from 10,155 deals to 6,938 according to Merger Market. Deal values sank by 53%, from $1.9 trillion to $901.6 billion during the same period. - TradeArabia News Service