The speed of scientific innovations may be dissuading some biotech firms from merger and acquisition deals, according to researchers at Jefferies. The number of deals this year has fallen short of expectations, with Five US biotech deals over $100m before May but none since. four deals took place in 2017 and eight in 2016. Apart from caution over the pace of technological advances, a second reason for a fall in deals may be that that they are seen as risky investments which are getting riskier as they tend to involve high valuations for firms with no revenue stream, Jefferies said.
The speed of scientific innovations may be dissuading some biotech firms from merger and acquisition deals, according to researchers at Jefferies. The number of deals this year has fallen short of expectations, with four US biotech deals over $100m before May but none since. Five deals took place in 2017 and eight in 2016. Apart from caution over the pace of technological advances, a second reason for a fall in deals may be that that they are seen as risky investments which are getting riskier as they tend to involve high valuations for firms with no revenue stream, Jefferies said.