Pharma M&A gets soft in second quarter

Pharmaceutical and life science deals got a little soft last quarter. According to a new report from consultant PwC, there was a decline in the two Vs--volume and value--after some big deals in the first quarter pushed both of those up. Deal volume was off 40% compared with both the first quarter and the same quarter a year ago. Value was down 32% compared with the second quarter of last year, but PwC says it sees increasing competition for the "scarce assets in the industry." The current quarter may be shaping up to be a little better. Valeant ($VRX) closed its $8.7 billion deal for Bausch + Lomb last month. There are a couple more big deals pending, but they are not likely to close until later. That includes Mylan's ($MYL) $1.6 billion buyout of India's Agila Specialties, as well as Perrigo's ($PRGO) surprise  $8.6 billion takeover bid for Irish drugmaker Elan ($ELN). Report | More