The news: Pharma dealmaking is surging in 2026 to about $66 billion in valuation, roughly double last year, according to Bloomberg. The latest deals inked this week include:

• Sun Pharmaceuticals is buying women’s health-focused pharma Organon for $11.75 billion.
• Eli Lilly is acquiring cancer biotech Ajax Therapeutics for up to $2.3 billion. That follows its $7 billion deal last week for cancer cell therapy Kelonia Therapeutics, and makes Ajax Lilly’s sixth acquisition of the year.

Why it matters: The convergence of financial necessity and market clarity has transformed biopharma acquisitions from a simple survival tactic into a high-stakes tool for long-term expansion.

A steep patent cliff is pushing some pharma companies to buy growth. Drugmakers have long turned to biotech acquisitions to offset losses from expiring exclusivity, but urgency is rising as key blockbuster drugs are set to lose protection by 2030. In the US alone, annual branded revenue losses are projected at $200 billion to $400 billion, according to DrugPatentWatch. Those losses include Merck’s Keytruda ($32 billion in 2025 sales) and Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis ($14 billion). In March, Merck bought Terns Pharma for $6.7 billion, following its $9.2 billion Cidara Therapeutics deal in January.

Greater clarity on tariffs and US investment is encouraging companies to spend on acquisitions. Most large pharma companies have struck deals with the Trump administration, trading US investment and negotiated prices on some brand-name drugs for three years of tariff relief. With less uncertainty compared with this time last year, companies can better model costs and pursue deals.

Some pharma companies are using M&A to diversify, not just plug patent holes. Cardiometabolic drugs made up 74% of Lilly's sales last year, funding the company’s buys in oncology, immunology, and neuroscience, while lessening reliance on the GLP-1 led category as market competition is expected to intensify soon. Meanwhile, others like Sun are making deals to reposition their portfolios. Its $12 billion acquisition of Organon gives Sun instant scale in women’s health and branded drugs.

Implications for pharma companies: The M&A surge is raising the stakes on timing and focus. Companies facing patent cliffs have less time to make decisions and are paying premiums to secure late-stage or commercial assets and stabilize revenue. At the same time, active acquirers are working to lock in therapy area leadership, making it harder for competitors to catch up. Business development teams face pressure to both move quickly and be selective when deciding whether to double down or exit a therapy area, and when to buy versus build.

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