| "To merge or not to merge?" That does indeed seem to be a pertinent question, given the capital market conditions in Europe and elsewhere in the biotech business at present. And it's been like that for some time now if one compares the number of IPOs in Europe in 2001 (four compared with approximately 40 the year before). Although 2000 was clearly an exceptional year in the life science business, prospects for a listing remain poor today - on whichever side of the Atlantic you happen to be sitting. Given this reality, consolidation seems not only logical, but essential for the survival and growth of European life science companies. Is consolidation happening? There is some evidence to suggest that it is in the US, according to the article from Neal Ransome, European Leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Healthcare Corporate Finance Team. However, it seems that the trend is being driven by 'big biotech' companies (more akin to big pharma), rather than by small and medium biotech. |
