The rate of growth of the pharma pipeline slowed last year as oncology and rare diseases tightened their grip on R&D. There are also further signs of China’s rise in importance in the industry.

During Q4, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $35.7bn and drew in $62.1bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $19.2bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $4.8bn.

With only weeks to go in 2022, the three major pharmas each had inked between 16 and 20 deals. Meanwhile, Pfizer has been less busy with 12 deals, but those include M&A totaling $18.2bn.

With the planned $487m acquisition of sensorineural-focused Akouos, Lilly makes its second gene therapy M&A play in two years, on top of partnering/financing activity in the space.