A merger and acquisition boom is beckoning in the global life science industry, according to a report.
Some 94% of companies surveyed by global law firm Reed Smith and financial publication Mergermarket are planning to make an acquisition in the coming year.
Another 87% expect those deals to take place across borders, demonstrating the international nature of the industry, the study showed.
London-based Reed Smith corporate partner James Wilkinson said: “Most of what we see has a cross-border nature to it.
"Companies striving for growth in a saturated marketplace are looking to develop their portfolios, diversify their products, move into new markets and restructure their
businesses through divestments."
The first six months of 2015 saw US$164.3bn worth of deals in the life science sector, up almost 53% on last year, according to the Life Lines: Life Sciences M&A and the Rise of Personalised Medicine survey.
The findings provide more evidence that the recent wave of M&A in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector is set to continue.
Pfizer confirmed last month it was in talks with Allergan after the latter agreed to sell its generic drug arm to Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical for US$40.5bn.
There have also been a string of smaller deals, including Celgene's US$7.2bn takeover of Receptos (NASDAQ:RCPT), AstraZeneca's (LON:AZN) US$2.7bn swoop on ZS Pharma (NASDAQ:ZSPH) and Shire's (LON:SHP) US$5.9bn acquisition of Dyax.
Nick Cheek, global managing editor of Remark, the events and publications arm of Mergermarket, added: "The M&A boom in the life sciences sector looks set to continue.
"Deal volumes are on track to beat 2014, itself the busiest year for transactions since the financial crisis seven years ago.
"Despite considerable uncertainty, transactions will continue apace, as life science companies work out where the pieces will fall for their strategies – and seek to build organisations
that are fit for this purpose."