2025年医药交易年度回顾：一个更精简但价值更高的交易年

2025 Pharma DealsAnnual Review A leaner yet higher-value year for dealmaking LUCY HAGGERTY, Analyst, Global Market Insights, IQVIATASKIN AHMED, Associate Director, Global Market Insights, IQVIAAYUSH SAXENA, Senior Insights Associate, Global Market Insights, IQVIA Table of contents IntroductionRestrained dealmaking amid market volatilityM&A deal spend soarsRoche tops list of most prolific dealmakersLate-stage assets drive licensing fees up Introduction Following an uneventful 2024, the slowdown in dealactivity in the life sciences sector continued in 2025as persistent macroeconomic headwinds, heightenedgeopolitical tensions and shifts in US healthcarepolicy discouraged companies from signing M&A, while the average and median deal values also surgedthanks to risk-mitigating deal structures involving highoption-based and milestone payments. After droppingin 2024, average upfront payments increased by 48% Roche was the leading pharmaceutical dealmakerin terms of deal volume in 2025, while Novartiscommitted to the highest total deal spend.By deal volume, oncology was once again the leading Licensing deal flow for life science companiesremained sluggish in 2025 as licensees continued tobe selective in the types of assets they in-licensedto their already streamlined portfolios. Similar to Deal activity in the life sciences sector remainedsubdued in 2025 as rising geopolitical tensionsand continued uncertainty in the market Aggregate spending on M&A surged by99% to US$257 B, with nine acquisitions Restrained dealmaking amid Following several volatile years within the industry,deal activity in the life sciences sector remainedsubdued in 2025 as rising geopolitical tensions andcontinued uncertainty in the market deterred cautiousdealmakers. Excluding standalone research grants, the Due to this, biotechs faced another challenging yearwith many having to shut down or divest programsto focus on more advanced assets or up the pace of M&A deal spend soars After a continued downturn following the peak in2021, M&A activity remained dampened in the lifesciences sector in 2025 with regulatory scrutiny andmajor US policy uncertainties discouraging buyers. Following a rebound in 2024, biotech financingwas muted in 2025 as risk-averse investors favoredcompanies with established pipelines with clearclinical and regulatory pathways, creating a capitaldivide between companies at different stages ofdevelopment.1Despite an unstable start to the year, The volume of life science M&A deals (defined hereas Mergers, Business Acquisitions and Divestments,signed but not necessarily completed) announced in2025 fell 7% from 2024, in line with the slowdown in year. The top 10 M&A deals of 2024 had a combinedvalue of US$59.61 B and accounted for a slightlysmaller proportion of the year’s total aggregate value(46%). Nine of the top 10 acquisitions of 2025 were in 2024 to US$1,571M in 2025, far exceeding theaverage deal values recorded in 2021 when dealvolumes peaked (Figure 4). However, the median Interestingly, of the top 10 M&A deals of 2025, asranked by total potential deal value and recorded in theIQVIA Pharma Deals database, seven were announced The largest M&A deal in 2025 was Abbott Laboratories’purchase of cancer diagnostics firm, Exact Sciences,for US$105 per common share, representing a total test; Oncotype DX®, which provides personalizedtreatment options for patients with breast cancer;Oncodetect™, which identifies molecular residualdisease (MRD) to help assess the risk of recurrenceand guide follow-up care; and Cancerguard™, a for €10 B (US$11.39 B) in February. Later in June, theFrench pharma giant purchased Blueprint Medicinesfor a total equity value, including potential contingentvalue right (CVR) payments, of approximately US$9.5 B. With the patent expiration of its top selling cancerimmunotherapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), fastapproaching, Merck & Co. turned to M&A in 2025 to boost its existing pipeline and secure its futuregrowth. In July, Merck agreed to acquire VeronaPharma for US$107 per share representing a totaltransaction value of approximately US$10 B. Throughthe takeover, Merck gains access to Ohtuvayre® With big-ticket M&A continuing to remain mostly offthe cards in 2025, the largest biopharma acquisitionof the year was Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) purchaseof Intra-Cellular Therapies for US$132 per sharein cash, representing a 39% premium and a totalequity value of approximately US$14.6 B. J&J picksup Intra-Cellular’s lead marketed asset Caplyta(lumateperone), a once-daily oral therapy approved to Private equity interest in the life sciences sectorremained high in 2025, with Blackstone and TPGacquiring Hologic, a global medtech leader in women’shealth, for up to US$79 per share, representing an Sanofi features twice in the top 10 M&A deals in 2025,with its sale of a 50% controlling stake in its consumer Once again, the M&A landscape was dominated bythe US, with acquisitions of US-based compa