Breakingviews: Where drugs fail, M&A might prove a healthy course

Source: www.breakingviews.comis Europe's leading financial commentary service Sanofi's attempted e48 billion takeover of Aventis is just the latest in a string of merger moves in the drugs sector over the past decade. To get an idea of the scale of the activity, consider that the market share of the top 10 companies has risen from 25% in 1988 to around 50% today. And there is much further to go, as pill-making is still a highly fragmented activity compared with other sectors of the economy.