Mergers and Acquisitions as a Consequence of Declining Innovation Productivity in Pharmaceuticals: Evidence from Croatia

Abstract

Declining productivity of pharmaceutical innovation resulted in an increased number of mergers & acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry. Increased investments into research & development lack the resulting increases in patentable new substances. As a result, the once market leaders are not buying their followers, but the generics producers are buying unsuccessful innovators. We show the case of Pliva: once regional pharma leader that declined into a generics producer's subsidiary. The Pliva sought new ideas by acquiring several research centres. After these acquisitions produced no visible results, the company itself was a target, first by another unsuccessful R&D based company and lastly, by a successful generics producer.

Keywords

• mergers
• acquisitions
• pharmaceutical industry;
• esearch and development