...Pharma Corporate Activity: Consolidation in the global pharma industry has gained pace during 2015 as players search for scale, efficiencies and the next blockbuster drug. Aided by good access to funding at favourable rates, M&A continues despite high sector valuations, demonstrating a shift in in near-term risk appetite across the sector. Focus on Patient Value: Secular pharma trends remain strong, characterised by growing global access to health care, increasing life expectancy, as well as innovation and technological advances. However, as cost pressures on health-care systems rise payers and regulators have increased their focus on patient value, moving away from the traditional volume-based approach. This shift in policy has acted as a catalyst for recent M&A transactions, as the pharma business models evolve to the shift in incentives. Drug Pricing Debate Intensifies: US payers have stepped up the debate around drug pricing in the US market, applying value-based assessments. Fitch...
