The number of deals announced in the global healthcare sector (including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment) declined by 28% during the week ended April 12, 2020 compared to the previous week, according to GlobalData’s deals database.

Aurojyoti Bose, Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The decline was subsequent to two consecutive weeks of growth in deal activity. Deal activity in the healthcare sector has remained inconsistent due to uncertainty and volatile market conditions since the coronavirus outbreak.”

Deal activity declined in the key markets such as the US and China during the week ended April 12.

The announcement of venture financing, partnership, licensing agreement and merger and acquisitions (M&A) deals decreased by 37.1%, 21.1%, 52.2% and 29.4%, respectively, during the week ended April 12, 2020 compared to the previous week. On the other hand, equity offerings deal volume increased by 33.3%.