‘Buying stuff like it’s going out of fashion’: Biotech M&A on track for best year since pre-Covid

Global biopharma M&A is experiencing a sharp uptick , putting the sector on track for its strongest year since the pre-pandemic peak seven years ago. Driven by looming patent cliffs, newly buoyant public markets, and Big Pharma's race to beef up their pipelines, dealmaking so far in 2026 amounted to $106 billion over 201 deals, according to PitchBook data. If the current pace of biopharma M&A holds up for the rest of the year, the industry could be on track to notch more than $250 billion in deal value, marking the strongest year for biotech and pharma since the 2019 peak. We've seen pharma companies "really buying stuff like it's going out of fashion," Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare Equity Research at HSBC, Rajesh Kumar, told CNBC. Following a post-pandemic trough in 2022 and a softer 2024 where total deal value dropped to $114.8 billion, M&A surged to $209 billion in 2025. That momentum has accelerated into 2026. So far this year, momentum for dealmaking in the sector has been strong, despite an interest rate environment that has deteriorated following inflationary pressures in recent months, Kumar said. "Broadly speaking, the deal-making environment in first half was a little more conducive than it is right now," Kumar said. The bolt-on deal trend According to PitchBook data, the vast majority of capital allocation is currently concentrated in strategic acquisitions and corporate add-ons rather than leveraged buyouts, with drug discovery dominating the deal flow. …