17 May 2016 - Markets work best when there are many competitors.

Sky-high prescription drug prices have angered both politicians and patients, and for good reason. Medication prices rose by more than six times the rate of inflation between 2006 and 2013.

While drug pricing is a complicated issue, the co-occurrence of soaring drug prices and an all-time record year for mergers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry may be more than mere coincidence. 2015 saw the largest number and value of acquisitions ever in pharma and biotech—168 announced deals with 30 transactions exceeding $1 billion. The total value of mergers and acquisitions in 2015 was more than $300 billion, easily surpassing 2014’s record of $250 billion.

For more details, go to: http://fortune.com/2016/05/17/high-drug-prices-mergers-pharma-competition/