(Reuters) -Abbott <ABT.N> is buying cancer test maker Exact Sciences <EXAS.O> in a $23 billion deal, including debt, to bolster the medical device maker’s cancer diagnostics business.
The move adds to a growing list of high-profile transactions over the past decade by U.S. pharmaceutical companies to acquire promising therapies in fields ranging from oncology, neurology to rare diseases and obesity.
Below are some of the major deals involving U.S.-based pharma and biotech firms from the past decade
Year Acquirer Target Deal Description
Value
2025 Abbott < Exact up to To gain
Sciences $23 access to
ABT.N> billion Exact
Sciences’
cancer tests,
including
flagship
colorectal
cancer test
Cologuard
2025 Merck Cidara $9.2 To gain
Therapeut billion access to
ics Cidara’s
experimental
drug for flu
prevention
2025 Pfizer Metsera $10 To gain a
billion foothold in
the
fast-growing
obesity
treatment
market
2025 Merck & Verona About $10 Strengthens
Co Pharma billion Merck’s
respiratory
portfolio
amid looming
Keytruda
patent cliff
2025 Johnson & Intra-Cel $14.6 Expands J&J’s
Johnson lular billion footprint in
Therapies brain disease
treatments
2024 Novo Catalent $16.5 Boosts
Holdings billion manufacturing
(includin capacity for
g debt), Novo
$11.5 Nordisk’s
billion popular
(excludin obesity drug
g debt) Wegovy
2023 Merck & Prometheu $10.8 Adds
Co s billion experimental
Bioscienc treatment for
es ulcerative
colitis and
Crohn’s
disease and
builds up
presence in
immunology
2023 Bristol Karuna BMY gains a
Myers Therapeut $14 promising
Squibb ics billion antipsychotic
medicine as
patents on
its older
therapies
near their
expiry
2023 Pfizer Seagen $43 Builds
billion Pfizer’s
cancer
portfolio
amid decline
in sales for
COVID-related
products and
generic
competition
2022 Amgen Horizon $27.8 Buyout,
Therapeut billion biggest in
ics the sector in
2022,
fortifies
rare diseases
portfolio
2022 Pfizer Biohaven $11.6 Pfizer bets
Pharmaceu billion big on a new
tical class of
Holding migraine
drugs
2021 Merck & Co Acceleron About Diversifies
Pharma $11.5 Merck’s
billion portfolio
beyond
cancer
2021 Ginkgo Soaring $17.5 Ginkgo goes
Bioworks Eagle million public
Acquisiti through a
on merger with a
blank-check
vehicle
backed by
former
Hollywood
executives
Harry Sloan
and Jeff
Sagansky
2020 AstraZenec Alexion $39 AstraZeneca’s
a Pharmaceu billion largest ever
ticals deal to
diversify
away from its
cancer
business,
betting on
rare-disease
and
immunology
drugs
2020 Bristol MyoKardia About $13 Bolster
Myers billion Bristol’s
Squibb portfolio of
heart disease
treatments
2020 Gilead Immunomed $21 Strengthens
ics billion Gilead’s
cancer
portfolio
2019 Mylan Pfizer’s About $12 Mylan’s
Upjohn billion acquisition
business of Pfizer’s
Upjohn
business was
structured as
a stock-based
merger,
resulting in
the formation
of Viatris .
Upjohn was
essentially
spun off to
Pfizer
shareholders
and then
merged with
Mylan
2019 AbbVie Allergan $63 AbbVie gains
billion, control of
$83 Botox and
billion diversifies
(includin its portfolio
g debt) beyond its
then-blockbus
ter drug,
Humira
2019 Pfizer Array $11.4 Pfizer gains
Biopharma billion oncology
asset
2019 Bristol Celgene $74 One of the
Myers Corp billion largest
Squibb pharmaceutica
l mergers in
history
2017 Johnson & Actelion $30 Johnson &
Johnson’s billion Johnson’s
subsidiary,
Janssen
Holding,
acquires
Actelion;
Actelion’s
R&D unit spun
off into
Idorsia
2017 Gilead Kite $11.9 Strengthens
Sciences Pharma billion Gilead’s
position in
the field of
cell therapy,
particularly
in CAR-T
treatments
for cancer
2016 Pfizer Medivatio $14 Pfizer
n billion acquires
blockbuster
prostate
cancer drug
Xtandi
2015 Shire Baxalta $32 Catapults
billion Shire to
leading
position in
treating rare
diseases
2015 AbbVie Pharmacyc $21 AbbVie gets
lics billion access to
what is
expected to
be one of the
world’s
top-selling
cancer drugs
and expanding
its reach in
the
profitable
oncology
field
2015 Valeant Salix $14.5 Makes Valeant
Pharmaceut Pharmaceu billion a leader in
icals (now ticals gastro-intest
Bausch inal drugs
Health)
2015 Pfizer Hospira $15 Deal creates
billion leading
global
established
pharmaceutica
l business
for Pfizer
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh, Siddhi Mahatole and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
