This article is part of Bain's 2026 M&A Report.

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Pharma M&A is no longer just about chasing the next blockbuster; it’s about platforms, production, and strategic control across the value chain. The race to secure capacity is rapidly redefining what it means to buy growth. For industry executives, the urgent question in 2026 and beyond is, “What parts of the value chain must we own to stay ahead of the competition?”

Overall, strategic pharma deal value through November 15, 2025, jumped up by 79% compared with the same period in 2024, as the average deal size rose by more than 80%, signaling a decisive return of confidence in M&A. While healthcare and life sciences deal counts fell by 10% through November 15, 2025, pharma and biotech fueled a large portion of the sector’s 29% surge in strategic deal value over the same period. This also continues to be an area in which serial acquirers of smaller firms are earning higher total shareholder returns than infrequent and large-scale acquirers. Among the top 20 pharma companies, serial acquirers of smaller companies had an average total shareholder return of 24% for 2020 to 2025 vs. 6% (or less) for infrequent and large-scale acquirers. While other healthcare sectors are retrenching, pharma is leaning in with a sharper focus and a new rulebook.

Four key trends are reshaping strategic M&A in pharma.

• The quest for vertical integration: Smart leadership teams are using M&A to build capacity and secure scarce manufacturing and supply inputs from sterile fill-finish to isotope sourcing. Fragile supply chains, capacity constraints, and the growing complexity of biologics have made control over production vital to growth and speed to market.
• A next-generation obesity treatment gold rush: Although GLP-1 obesity drugs and incretins command record deal value, buyers’ focus has moved from speed-to-market injectables toward next-generation delivery platforms, multi-agonist molecules, and control of manufacturing capacity. Instead of chasing the molecule, leaders are now aiming to own the platform and the associated profit pool along the value chain. Notably, this pivot continues even as US pricing pressure tightens, pushing acquirers toward platform control and efficiency. (Medicare’s negotiated “maximum fair prices” begin in 2026, and the White House’s November 2025 deal to cut GLP-1 prices and expand Medicare coverage signal further margin compression.)
• The antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) race: These targeted therapies, which combine the precision of antibodies with the potency of cancer-killing agents, are fueling a surge in oncology dealmaking. Big pharma’s appetite for more precisely targeted therapies has pushed ADC transactions to record levels, with smaller innovators generating much of the science and licensing activity.
• Greater China’s rise as a pharma powerhouse: Greater China has developed a world-class pharma pipeline, setting up alluring M&A and partnership opportunities for global (excluding Greater China) biopharma companies. As geopolitics redraws the boundaries of global collaboration, a new cross-border dynamic is emerging in which Greater China’s early-stage pharma assets flow west through creative alliances rather than outright takeovers. Greater China’s biotech exporters are rewriting the rules of access, forcing global acquirers to rethink risk and control.

Together, these trends point to a more deliberate capability-led era in pharma M&A.

Radiopharma: Buy the Factory, Not Just the Drug

Leading pharma companies are acquiring the capabilities for end-to-end production. More than 80% of radiopharma deals in 2025 included manufacturing or isotope supply integration (see Figure 1). This marks a clear shift from pipeline expansion to capacity security—a hedge against bottlenecks in sterile fill-finish and isotopes. M&A in pharma isn’t just about owning IP; it’s about controlling the potential bottlenecks.

• Strategic advice for 2026: Treat manufacturing and supply control as a core source of competitive advantage. Building or buying capacity is no longer operational insurance; it’s a strategic move that can define future market leadership.

Figure 1

Next-gen obesity drugs

GLP-1 drugs still account for a significant part of deal value, but the next wave of investment is targeting drugs that work on multiple pathways to activate receptors, including oral, dual-, and triple-agonist platforms. Deals are growing in scale and technical sophistication and are starting to include manufacturing tie-ups (see Figure 2). The first obesity drug wave was about speed to market. Leaders are now out to own the platform—delivery technology, combinatorial mechanisms, and supply capacity.

• Strategic advice for 2026: Look beyond the molecule. The greatest value will accrue to those who integrate delivery innovation, build manufacturing scale, and market to patients as consumers.

Figure 2

The antibody-drug conjugate race

ADCs are back—smarter, more targeted, and safer. The science for these precision cancer therapy drugs is advancing rapidly, fueling M&A activity. ADCs represent around 40% of all antibody and recombinant antibody transactions. When big pharma shifted in 2023 toward licensing-led deal structures, ADCs went from niche modality to mainstream growth engine. As competition intensifies, the ability to identify differentiated assets and structure flexible partnerships is becoming a key advantage for dealmakers navigating this rapidly maturing field.

• Strategic advice for 2026: Prioritize differentiation over scale. Leaders are securing access to distinctive drug payloads, novel linker technologies that allow more precise control over how and when a drug is released, and selective indications—namely, targeted disease areas in which the drug’s unique advantages are most likely to deliver impact. With valuations peaking and pharma pipelines full of ADCs, late entrants must ensure that they are buying for a long-term scientific edge, not just short-term growth.

Greater China’s pharma pipeline

US and European companies remain selective about pharma M&A in Greater China, but licensing partnerships are up sharply, and dealmaking may increase given the region’s world-class pipeline, particularly in oncology. The region’s biopharma industry is exporting innovation, not just application programming interfaces. Global acquirers are navigating geopolitical challenges via creative partnership structures. Greater China’s share of global licensing deals has doubled since 2020 (see Figure 3). M&A deal structure in Greater China is different, requiring more cash upfront as the region’s pharma companies need to return money to venture capital firms faster and reinvest in new programs.

• Strategic advice for 2026: As Greater China’s role in global biopharma innovation expands, US and European leaders are pursuing licensing and codevelopment models that enable access and learning while managing IP exposure and political visibility. The winning strategy will be to engage deeply enough to benefit from Greater China’s scientific momentum while structuring partnerships to preserve control, compliance, and long-term options in markets outside Greater China.

Figure 3

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Overview

• Looking Ahead to 2026: Getting a Boost from the Great Rebound

• Looking Back at M&A in 2025: Behind the Great Rebound

• M&A Capability for a New Era: Five Ways AI Is Creating More Value in M&A Right Now

• Where the Deals Are: 2025’s Top M&A Markets

• 10 Takeaways from Our M&A Executive Survey

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