Eli Lilly has signed more mergers and acquisitions deals than any other pharmaceutical company this year, spending $25.27 billion across 10 transactions as of June 10. This figure represents more than half of the $46.38 billion that the top 12 pharmaceutical companies by revenue have spent on such deals in 2026 so far.
Over the past decade, Lilly has completed 30 buyouts, leading among the top ten pharmaceutical companies. Novartis follows with 26 deals, while other companies have signed fewer agreements over the same period.
The number of deals does not necessarily correspond to total spending. Over ten years, Lilly's deal history totals $54 billion, while Bristol Myers Squibb's eleven deals during that time amount to $146.7 billion. One significant factor is Bristol Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Celgene for $99.5 billion, which S&P Capital IQ identified as the largest pharmaceutical deal in the past decade.
Lilly has shown a preference for smaller transactions, highlighted last month when it acquired three vaccine biotechnology firms on a single day for a combined total of $3.8 billion.
Earlier this year, Lilly made headlines with its $8.14 billion acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in March—the largest deal until GSK announced plans to acquire Nuvalent for $10.6 billion and Sun Pharma agreed to purchase Organon for $11.75 billion.
In addition to its mergers and acquisitions activity, Lilly has entered into eleven major licensing agreements this year—including two on June 2, one with South Korea’s Haisco and another with China’s Hanmi—expanding its portfolio into areas such as GLP-2 treatments for short bowel disease.
