The life sciences sector has seen a marked increase in strategic acquisitions in recent years, as companies seek to replenish innovation pipelines and safeguard future growth against looming patent cliffs and loss of exclusivity. In this context, merger control is becoming a central strategic constraint, with competition authorities responding to heightened deal activity by intensifying their focus on pipeline overlaps, future competition and integration across R&D and manufacturing value chains.
This session will explore recent trends in the life science M&A landscape, before drawing on case studies to examine the latest developments in how competition authorities are scrutinising transactions.
- What are the key trends shaping life science M&A activity today? What are the predominant transaction types, and where is the most significant deal activity occurring globally?
- How are competition authorities currently assessing life science M&As? What types of deals are attracting the most scrutiny?
- What conclusions can be drawn from Illumina/Grail, Novo Holdings/Catalent and other recent cases in terms of how authorities are approaching innovation risk, vertical integration and control over critical capabilities?
- How should companies evaluate antitrust risk when acquiring early-stage or pre-market pipeline assets?
- When does horizontal or vertical integration create meaningful competition risk?
- At what stage in the M&A process should antitrust considerations influence the deal structure, valuation and conditionality, and how are companies adapting in practice?