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Mergers and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

Author

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  • Comanor, William S.
  • Scherer, F.M.

Abstract

Conflicting trends confound the pharmaceutical industry. The productivity of pharmaceutical innovation has declined in recent years. At the same time, the cohort of large companies who are the leading engines of pharmaceutical R&D has become increasingly concentrated. The concurrent presence of these trends is not sufficient to determine causation. In response to lagging innovation prospects, some companies have sought refuge in mergers and acquisitions to disguise their dwindling prospects or gain R&D synergies. On the other hand, the increased concentration brought on by recent mergers may have contributed to the declining rate of innovation. In this paper, we consider the second of these causal relationships: the likely impact of the recent merger wave among the largest pharmaceutical companies on the rate of innovation. In other words, have recent mergers, which may have been taken in response to lagging innovation, represented a self-defeating strategy that only made industry outcomes worse?

Suggested Citation

  • Comanor, William S. & Scherer, F.M., 2013. "Mergers and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 106-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:32:y:2013:i:1:p:106-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2012.09.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gilbert, Richard J, 2019. "Competition, Mergers, and R&D Diversity," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt33t5v0fx, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    2. Massimo Florio & Simona Gamba, 2021. "Biomed Europa: After the coronavirus, a public infrastructure to overcome the pharmaceutical oligopoly," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(3), pages 387-409, September.
    3. Liu, Xingyi, 2016. "Vertical integration and innovation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 88-120.
    4. Fernando Gascón & Jesús Lozano & Borja Ponte & David Fuente, 2017. "Measuring the efficiency of large pharmaceutical companies: an industry analysis," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(5), pages 587-608, June.
    5. Fumio Teramae & Tomohiro Makino & Yeongjoo Lim & Shintaro Sengoku & Kota Kodama, 2020. "Impact of Research and Development Strategy on Sustainable Growth in Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Martin Backfisch, 2017. "Have Pharmaceutical R&D Project Success Rates Decreased? A Critical Review and New Empirical Results," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201746, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    7. Malek, Jan & Newham, Melissa & Seldeslachts, Jo & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2024. "Acquiring R&D projects: who, when, and what? Evidence from antidiabetic drug development," CEPR Discussion Papers 18816, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Billette de Villemeur, Etienne & Versaevel, Bruno, 2019. "One lab, two firms, many possibilities: On R&D outsourcing in the biopharmaceutical industry," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 260-283.
    9. Tannista Banerjee & Arnab Nayak, 2015. "Comparing Domestic and Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical Industry," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 43(4), pages 489-499, December.
    10. Darren Filson & Saman Olfati & Fatos Radoniqi, 2015. "Evaluating Mergers in the Presence of Dynamic Competition Using Impacts on Rivals," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(4).
    11. Haucap, Justus & Rasch, Alexander & Stiebale, Joel, 2019. "How mergers affect innovation: Theory and evidence," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 283-325.
    12. Malek, Jan & Newham, Melissa & Seldeslachts, Jo & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2024. "Acquiring R&D projects: who, when, and what? Evidence from antidiabetic drug development," CEPR Discussion Papers 18816, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Hiromitsu Goto & Wataru Souma & Mari Jibu & Yuichi Ikeda, 2020. "Multilayer Network Analysis of the Drug Pipeline in the Global Pharmaceutical Industry," Papers 2003.04620, arXiv.org.
    14. Marta F. Arroyabe & Katrin Hussinger & John Hagedoorn, 2020. "Hiring New Key Inventors to Improve Firms’ Post-M&A Inventive Output," DEM Discussion Paper Series 20-19, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    15. Martin Backfisch, 2018. "The Development of Firm Size and Innovativeness in the Pharmaceutical industry between 1989 and 2010," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201813, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    16. Wang, Shuxun & Wu, Kai & Lai, Seiwai, 2022. "Acquisition for innovations? M&A intensity and intra-firm innovation reallocations," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    17. Jelena Grujić & Slobodan Morača & Angela Fajsi, 2020. "Analysis of Risk Factors in the Channels of Drug Distribution: Professional Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, June.
    18. Dubois, Pierre & Majewska, Gosia, 2022. "Mergers and Advertising in the Pharmaceutical Industry," CEPR Discussion Papers 17658, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Bonnín Roca, Jaime & Vaishnav, Parth & Morgan, M.Granger & Mendonça, Joana & Fuchs, Erica, 2017. "When risks cannot be seen: Regulating uncertainty in emerging technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1215-1233.
    20. Wolfgang Kerber, 2017. "Rights on Data: Competition, Innovation, and Competition Law: Dissecting the Interplay," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201742, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    21. Ralph Siebert & Zhili Tian, 2020. "Dynamic Mergers Effects on R&D Investments and Drug Development across Research Phases in the Pharmaceutical Industry," CESifo Working Paper Series 8303, CESifo.
    22. Richard J. Gilbert, 2019. "Competition, Mergers, and R&D Diversity," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 54(3), pages 465-484, May.
    23. Ute Laermann-Nguyen & Martin Backfisch, 2021. "Innovation crisis in the pharmaceutical industry? A survey," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(12), pages 1-37, December.
    24. Felipa de Mello-Sampayo & Sofia de Sousa-Vale & Francisco Camoes, 2015. "Substitutability Between Drugs, Innovation, and Fiscal Policy in the Pharmaceutical Industry," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 16(2), pages 273-289, November.
    25. Hassan Heidari & Arash Refah Kahriz & Yousef Mohammadzadeh, 2019. "Stock market behavior of pharmaceutical industry in Iran and macroeconomic factors," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 255-277, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pharmacuetical mergers; Innovation;

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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