David Matyas, Bradley Merrill Thompson Quoted in Article, "Regulatory Demands to Spur Health M&A in 2012: Report"

After a robust year in life sciences mergers and acquisitions, executives and investors expect even more consolidation throughout the industry in 2012, thanks in part to health care reform and Medicare changes, according to a survey released Thursday.

The majority of executives and investors polled in the Epstein Becker Green survey expected merger and acquisition activity to grow in all subsectors of the life sciences industry in the next year, including biotechnology, medical devices, health care providers and health care services.

"The whole notion of health reform, as well as various segments of Medicare cuts, continues to be and was a driving factor in the industry," David Matyas told Law360 on Thursday. "There's going to continue to be more transactional activity as a result of health reform and the like. No one is going to necessarily just sit still."

"The FDA continues to heap new clinical trial requirements on manufacturers and push more technologies into higher regulatory classifications," said Bradley Merrill Thompson in a statement. "Unfortunately, this makes it not only difficult to start new, innovative medical technology companies, but it drives existing companies into the arms of larger companies with deeper pockets."