Our analysis finds that markets are more concentrated, with less breadth, as a larger share of U.S. equity returns reflects a single, common driver after accounting for other drivers of equity returns, like value and momentum. Bridging the AI buildout’s financing hump between front-loaded investment and back-loaded revenues needs long-term financing. This has already started with the AI buildout being increasingly debt funded, as seen from bond sales by large tech firms.

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Consumer expectations are reshaping health industries as patients demand more convenient, prevention-oriented, and tech-enabled care. Platforms that can deliver experiences such as virtual-first primary care, home diagnostics, remote patient monitoring, and wellness ecosystems are expected to command premium valuations. Recent deals such as Resmed’s acquisition of virtual diagnostics company VirtuOx and Samsung’s acquisition of digital health company Xealth illustrate how buyers are accelerating their shift towards virtual and care-anywhere platforms. Exit windows will remain narrow in 2026, constrained by volatile public market valuations, selective buyer appetite, and lingering uncertainty around regulatory, pricing and macroeconomic conditions. Medline’s debut on the Nasdaq in mid-December 2025, which raised $7.26bn in the largest IPO in nearly five years, exemplifies this strengthening confidence.

Global M&A trends in health industries

Of course, healthcare investment is not limited to outright M&A activity, and investors are sitting on plenty of dry powder given the depressed dealmaking activity seen across the past couple of years. That undeployed capital—combined with greater investor enthusiasm (warranted or not)—is likely to lead to increased dealmaking activity this year, particularly in sub-sectors of the market that the new adminstration is likely to support, such as AI. In a regulatory environment generally considered more favorable to M&A than in years past, the health care, medical and biotech spaces are being closely watched for dealmaking activity after 2025 saw a return to relative highs for these sectors. One factor driving urgency may be the “patent cliff,” a term for the numerous brand-name drugs where key patents are set to expire in the coming years. As the brand-name drugs become available as generics, large pharmaceutical companies are bracing for potential loss of revenue by bolstering pipelines through M&A.

Long-term Treasuries no longer offer the portfolio ballast they once did as high debt keeps yields elevated. Yet the massive capital investment from tech “hyperscalers” is seemingly unaffected by the Middle East conflict. In fact, consensus expectations of their spend has only risen since last year, with estimates out to 2030 rising about 25% since last October. The cookie will expire after six months, or sooner should there be a material change to this important information. This Website has not been, and will not be submitted to become, approved/verified by, or registered with, any relevant government authorities under the local laws. This Contents are not intended for, or directed to, persons in any countries or jurisdictions that are not enumerated above, or to an audience other than as specified above.

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Such innovative mergers highlight the evolving landscape in provider services, where technology and strategic partnerships are key to growth and differentiation. Similar dynamics are playing out across healthcare services, where elderly care models and a recurring revenue outpatient network continue to draw interest from both strategic buyers and financial investors. This in-depth examination of the healthcare and life sciences (HCLS) deal market explores how the major developments of 2024 have prepared the way for the year ahead. In this paper, we analyze how eight subsectors fared during another year of industry challenges and global instability, and how deal activity and market drivers could shape the 2025 investment landscape. This in-depth examination of the healthcare and life sciences (HCLS) deal market explores how the major developments of 2023 have prepared the way for the year ahead. In this paper, we analyze how eight subsectors fared during another year of industry challenges and global instability, and how deal activity and market drivers could shape the 2024 investment landscape.

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At the same time, GLP-1 therapies continue to influence demand patterns across biopharma, nutrition, retail, and chronic care. The intense competition for Metsera, which Pfizer ultimately acquired in November 2025, underscores the urgency with which buyers are looking to secure next-generation obesity and metabolic treatments. Ripple effects are expanding beyond obesity into cardiometabolic disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and adjunctive behavioural health support. This in turn is attracting interest from across the medtech, digital health, and retail ecosystem. Strategic buyers are also pursuing assets across the GLP-1 supply chain, including manufacturing capacity, formulation technologies, and delivery mechanism, as demand continues to outpace supply.

• Opportunities span fertility, menopause, and broader care models tied to cardiology, oncology, and immunology, particularly as healthcare becomes more consumer driven and personalized.
• Companies throughout the industry had to cope with a sharply higher cost of capital as they considered strategic changes to reposition themselves in an unpredictable post-COVID-19 environment.
• Our analysis finds that markets are more concentrated, with less breadth, as a larger share of U.S. equity returns reflects a single, common driver after accounting for other drivers of equity returns, like value and momentum.
• That shift will require new models for how payers and providers engage with consumers.
• The pivot represents a significant industry shift as companies like Cipher Digital leverage their power contracts and operational experience to support AI training and inference workloads.

Sector data

• Strategic buyers continued to dominate, accounting for 60.2 percent of deal volume, while private equity (PE) activity remained resilient despite tighter credit markets.
• The leak raises critical questions about AI model security and intellectual property protection as competition intensifies between major AI companies.
• For deeper insights into the market, and more from Tommy Erdei and the Jefferies team, check out the 2024 Healthcare Temperature Check and follow coverage of this year’s Global Healthcare Conference.
• We recently spoke with Dominic Lester and his colleague Lorna Shearin, Deputy Head of EMEA Investment Banking, to get their take on the state of European economies and the transaction environment.

While each region accounted for roughly one-third of global deal volumes, Asia Pacific grew the most, up 12% in 2025, compared to a 5% increase in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and a drop of 23% in the Americas. Much of the growth in Asia Pacific’s M&A activity was due to a 53% increase in China dealmaking, with investors attracted to the country’s innovative drug development landscape. The Americas continued to dominate in terms of deal value, representing nearly two-thirds of total deal value and nine megadeals. The deal comes as major pharmaceutical companies like Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and AbbVie increasingly integrate Claude into their operations, and follows Eli Lilly’s recent $2.75 billion investment in Insilico Medicine’s AI-driven drug design platform. This acquisition signals Anthropic’s commitment to establishing a strong presence in the rapidly growing AI-powered drug discovery and development market.

Finally, healthcare is moving from treating disease to preventing it, giving individuals more ownership of their health and driving demand for new tools and services. Our annual in-depth examination of the healthcare and life sciences deal market explores 2024 and the year ahead. A record $11.4 billion in venture capital is expected to flow into healthcare AI in 2024, as companies and investors explore potential applications of these technologies. http://www.portobellocc.org/pccpn/2021/01/30/seafield-connecting-coastal-communities/ Last year’s conference was dominated by talk about GLP-1 drugs as semaglutide treatments showed remarkable effectiveness in also addressing obesity in addition to its traditional market of diabetes. As the two major commercialized innovators, Novo and Eli Lilly, drove very strong growth , companies across the supply chain positioned themselves to capitalize on the growth opportunities. And as AI matures, data-driven diligence, integration, and value creation will increasingly separate leaders from laggards.

Healthcare and Life Sciences Investment Outlook

In a more competitive and globalised innovation environment, the companies that act early and with conviction will be best positioned to shape the next era of healthcare. Last year’s activity was shaped by the M&A “triple threat” of tariffs, drug pricing pressures, and regulatory shifts—conditions that steered buyers towards targeted transactions, such as those that filled critical pipeline gaps. As 2026 unfolds, leading health industries players are making bolder moves that reposition portfolios for a future in which every part of the healthcare value chain, from drug discovery to care delivery, is being redefined. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are increasingly prevalent across various healthcare domains, including drug discovery, workflow enhancement, and diagnostic support. While there continues to be more talk than demonstrated value at this point, there is excitement and some progress.