title: Effect of mergers and acquisitions on drug discovery: perspective from a case study of a Japanese pharmaceutical company.
abstract: The pharmaceutical industry has experienced intermittent waves of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) since the 1980s and recently appeared to be in yet another wave. Previous studies indicated rather negative impacts of consolidation on research and development, suggesting that they do not necessarily lead to long-term reinforcement of research capabilities, although they may enrich the drug pipeline in the short term. However, recent studies have implied a positive side in terms of knowledge-base transfer. Further micro-organizational studies suggested that scientists learned new knowledge and approaches from partner scientists and improved their performance and innovation. These findings imply that measures for the scientist-level integration after M&As would reinforce fundamental research capabilities in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. sotaro@mol.f.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Sotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shibayama
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanikawa
authors.forename: Ryuhei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D015195:Drug Design; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007564:Japan; D051188:Knowledge Bases; D017008:Negotiating; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D017149:Private Sector; D012106:Research / Q000458:organization & administration