Staff in pharmaceutical jobs have seen an increase in merger and acquisition activity in the last 12 months, according to an industry report.
Figures compiled by Life Science Analytics' biomedical database MedTRACK show that major pharmaceutical firms concluded 20 per cent more deals in 2010 than in 2009.
US-based healthcare giant Pfizer led the way, completing 51 transactions as of October 2010, while Sanofi-aventis closed 50 deals, leaping to second place in the industry rankings compared to 14th last year.
According to Sarah Terry, president of Life Science Analytics, this upward trend is being driven by a desire to expand pipelines, diversify operations and move into new geographic territories.
It was also noted that oncology was the top therapeutic area of focus for merger and acquisition activity, followed by infectious diseases.
Earlier this year, Pharmaceutical Technology Europe published analysis which suggested that firms are looking to increase their acquisition activity in order to safeguard their business against future patent expiries.