Ryan's District Boards

The torrid pace of deals in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors through 2013 is not expected to let up this year, thanks to new technologies to address unmet medical needs. Between 2011 and 2016, patents in developed markets will expire on brand-name drugs that would otherwise have generated sales of $127 billion, according to data firm IMS Health. To replace some of the lost revenue, larger drugmakers are looking to bring in new products, often in areas of significant scientific advancement such as treatments for cancer, rare diseases and drugs designed to turn off the activity of rogue genes. There were 10 major M&A deals involving publicly traded biotech companies last year, led by Amgen Inc's $10 billion buyout of Onyx Pharmaceuticals.