2022 China M&A market review - Pharmaceutical and life science industry in China (excerpt)

June 2023

In 2022, the pace of M&A in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry slowed down, and the market returned to sanity. There were 1,225 disclosed deals with a total disclosed transaction amount of 26.6 billion US dollars. The pharmaceutical and medical device sectors showed a different trend. The mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical sector gradually cooled down, with a year-on-year decrease of 43% in the disclosed transaction amount to 19.5 billion US dollars and 683 transactions. The decrease in the number of mega-deals led to a decline in the average deal size. Although the medical device sector was affected by the macro environment, the number of deals continued to increase, reaching a record high of 542, despite a decline in the disclosed transaction amount to 7.2 billion US dollars. You may find more in the excerpt English report.

“With the ongoing reforms in the healthcare fields and introduction of policies such as VBP normalized, PLS industry's valuation has returned to a more rational level. Driven by policy-related benefits, the medical devices sector is expected to further witness domestic substitution and continuous innovation. In addition, the establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange and the expansion of the Science and Technology Innovation Board's fifth set of standards to include medical equipment are providing investors with more exit options, potentially giving rise to an increase in merger and acquisition transactions.”

Jenelle Fei, Deals Pharmaceutical and Life Science Industry Partner