Consider Smaller Biotech ETFs as Big Pharma Goes Shopping in 2021 December 31, 2020 After a lull in mergers and acquisitions activity, Big Pharma could begin to use its cash stores to buy out smaller targets, potentially fueling the momentum in biotechnology-related exchange traded funds that target the small and mid cap segments. According to Dealogic data, total deal volume for the drug industry reached $253 billion globally in 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports. To put this number in perspective, the markets witnessed a record $432 billion in 2019. Observers attributed the slowdown in M&A activity to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, along with election-related uncertainty over future regulatory outlook.