With the COVID-19 pandemic having a profound effect on deal activity in 2020, 2021 saw the life sciences sector returning to the deal making agenda, as companies attempted to scale up and diversify their portfolios. The appetite for M&A especially bounced back in December when there was a flurry of high-valued deals announced, including Pfizer’s acquisition of Arena, Novartis’ purchase of Gyroscope Therapeutics and CSL’s takeover of Vifor Pharma, the biggest buyout of a drug developer that year.