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View from the Observation Deck

  1. In our May 1st blog post (Biotech Pipelines and "Pharmerging Markets" offer Growth Potential) we discussed how pharmaceutical companies were making acquisitions and licensing agreements to build their drug pipelines.
  2. The 21st anniversary edition of Ernst & Young's "Beyond Borders: global biotechnology report 2007" revealed that 52% of biotech CEOs planned to partner with other firms to bring new products to market.
  3. In that same survey, 99% of American biotech CEOs and 87% of European biotech CEOs planned to seek alliances over the next two years. Alliances tend to be forged via licensing agreements.
  4. New data from Bloomberg supports those claims from 2007 (see chart). In addition, the number of deals surged after 2009.  
  5. While not included in the chart, the number of deals in Q1'12 totaled 73, the best showing for a first quarter since 2002.
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2012 @ 3:33 PM

These posts were prepared by First Trust Advisors L.P., and reflect the current opinion of the authors. They are based upon sources and data believed to be accurate and reliable. Opinions and forward looking statements expressed are subject to change without notice. This information does not constitute a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security.