‘Twas the year of the M&A boom …

'Twasthe end of 2009, and in the ddn newsroom,

theeditors and writers gathered to reflect on Big Pharma's M&A boom.

In arare moment of quiet, away from their desks,

visionsof dollar signs loomed large and grotesque.

Newsof layoffs and job cuts rang in their ears,

butBig Pharma's buyouts somehow overcame most analysts' fears.

"Theeconomy tanked, but Big Pharma prevailed," said Amy Swinderman, sipping herMalbec.

"Thisyear was a blur," she sighed, "and my desk is a wreck!"

"Pfizer/Wyeth,Merck/Schering, Roche/Genentech, Gilead/CV Therapeutics," mused Jeff Bouley,swirling the scotch in his crystal.

"Billionsof dollars spent; lots of midnight deadlines," he recalled, seeming almostwistful.

"Plentyof multimillion dollar deals, too," Dave Hutton chimed in.

Cladin his new LeBron James jersey, the names "J&J" and "BMS" gave him a grin.

Crackingopen his Diet Pepsi, Dave added, "I also put Phase Forward on speed dial.

Yetthe news wasn't all good; I also covered many a failed drug trial."

"Ihad beaucoup rendez-vous with sanofi-aventis," added Lori Lesko, her keyboardlittered with cookie.

"LaboratoriosKendrick, Medley, BiPar Sciences, Shantha, Fovea … to many an acquisition, theFrench pharma said, 'oui.'"

"I'veenjoyed this brief respite; it's really been fun," interrupted Lloyd Dunlap,wrapping gifts in red and green tissue.

"ButQiagen just bought SA Biosciences for $90 mil, so we'd better move on to ourJanuary issue!"

So fromall of us at ddn—Amy, Jeff, Dave, Lloydand Lori—

Wewish you an even more successful 2010, and we look forward to telling yourstory.