The global value of mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical sector last year - excluding the $60bn (€55bn) proposed combination between the US firms Pfizer and Pharmacia - was just a fifth of the total in 2001, as access to public and private markets was restricted.

The Pfizer-Pharmacia deal represents 85% of the sector's total M&A value in 2002, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Last year there were 374 M&A deals in the pharmaceutical sector which raised $71bn, but excluding the Pfizer deal the total value would have been just $11bn. In 2001, 334 M&A deals raised $61bn.