Legacy Data in Pharma M&A: A Hidden Risk with Long-Term Impact

Summary

Increased M&A activity in life sciences is helping companies address patent cliffs, expand
pipelines, and gain access to innovative technologies. But amid the integration of products and
teams, legacy R&D systems—like ELNs and LIMS—pose hidden risks.
Without a plan, valuable experimental, clinical, and regulatory data can be lost, or systems are
left running indefinitely, draining IT budgets and introducing compliance risk.

Our solution helps pharmaceutical and biotech organizations:

• Securely archive legacy data for compliance and IP defense
• Centralize and control access to data
• Ensure long-term usability through FAIR principles and vendor-neutral formats
• Reduce data migration complexity during M&A transitions

1. Mergers and Acquisitions: A Strategic Imperative in Life Sciences

After a quieter 2024 marked by smaller, targeted deals, larger mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are gaining momentum across the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Analysts expect leading pharma, biotech, and medtech companies to increasingly turn to M&A to drive growth, enter new markets, and access emerging technologies (1).

Companies are pressured to offset looming patent expirations and replenish their pipelines through strategic acquisitions in specific therapeutic areas or geographies. Many also seek capabilities in next-generation technologies like cell and gene therapy, AI-enabled R&D, and precision medicine—initiatives that often require inorganic growth. Recent deals underscore this urgency. GSK’s $2 billion acquisition of efimosfermin alfa aims to strengthen its liver disease pipeline (2), while Novartis’s $3.1 billion acquisition of Anthos Therapeutics reflects a push into cardiovascular innovation (3). But beyond product strategy and financials, there’s a hidden and often underestimated aspect of these integrations: legacy data management.

2. Legacy Systems: A Usual Complexity After M&A

When companies merge, their IT infrastructures rarely align—especially in R&D environments. Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs), LIMS, data warehouses, and other platforms are often duplicated and incompatible. While some systems are temporarily maintained, they eventually retire.

This raises complex questions:

• What happens to the data in the systems being decommissioned?
• Which data should be migrated, archived, or preserved for compliance and research continuity?
• Who decides what is worth keeping?

Without a clear strategy, companies risk either losing critical information—or bearing the cost of keeping outdated systems running just to maintain access.

3. Why Legacy Data Still Matters

Decommissioning a legacy system isn’t as simple as turning it off. These platforms often hold years—or even decades—of valuable experimental, clinical, and regulatory data. Legacy ELNs may contain experimental results tied to regulatory filings, documentation needed for audits or inspections, and data relevant to ongoing research or intellectual property (IP) protection. Some of this information can’t be easily migrated due to format complexity, volume, or a lack of context. In many cases, subject matter experts must help determine what’s critical to preserve— consuming valuable time and resources. The result? Companies continue paying to support outdated systems just to retain access to legacy knowledge, increasing operational risk and IT costs.

Preserving access to legacy data is crucial for several reasons:

• Compliance: Regulatory bodies often mandate long-term access to R&D, manufacturing, and clinical records.
• IP Defense: Historical data may be essential for defending or extending patents.
• Scientific Value: Legacy research can support future experiments, modeling, or AI applications—but only if the data is accessible.

Tribal knowledge, where only former employees know how to find or interpret key data, is not sustainable. The real challenge isn't just retiring systems; it’s preserving the knowledge they contain.

4. What Makes Archiving Work During M&A

To ensure business continuity and compliance during mergers, companies need more than
basic exports or backups. They need a modern, life sciences–focused digital preservation
strategy.

Key requirements include:

• Centralized Access: A unified location where stakeholders can find all archived data, regardless of its original system.
• Standardized Formats: Avoid vendor lock-in by using interoperable, vendor-neutral data formats.
• Preservation Over Storage: Archive data in a way that maintains structure and context—not just static files in folders—so it remains usable for future applications.
• Searchability: Teams must be able to search and retrieve data across both structured and unstructured data in a human-readable way.

When done right, data archiving reduces risk, supports compliance, and protects the value of legacy information.

5. How Our Solution Supports M&A Transitions

At SciY, we support organizations in ensuring that valuable information remains accessible, secure, and compliant throughout M&A transitions. Our data consolidation and archiving platform is specifically designed to help pharmaceutical and biotech companies manage legacy data effectively during mergers and acquisitions.

Key benefits include:

• Risk Mitigation: Secure, compliant archiving ensures data is preserved throughout the M&A lifecycle, reducing the risk of loss, unauthorized access, or regulatory non-compliance.
• Operational Efficiency: Centralized access and advanced search capabilities help teams quickly find and use critical legacy data—accelerating decisions and reducing disruption during integration.
• Long-Term Flexibility: By using vendor-neutral formats, we ensure archived data remains accessible across changing platforms and IT environments, easing future migrations.
• Maximized Data Value: Following FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), we help organizations retain and reuse legacy data for modeling, analytics, AI, and regulatory submissions.
• Reduced Dependency on Individuals: Our platform captures legacy knowledge in a structured, searchable format, eliminating reliance on former employees who may no longer be available.

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Conclusion: Don’t Let Legacy Data Become a Liability

In M&A, systems may change quickly—but data must remain accessible and trustworthy.
Without a thoughtful approach to legacy data, companies risk non-compliance, loss of
knowledge, and increased costs.

Our solution ensures a smooth transition—preserving what matters and making legacy data a
long-term asset instead of a liability.

Bibliography

1. Life sciences: Primed for an increase. McKinsey & Company. [Online] February 19, 2025.
[Cited: May 20, 2025.] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/life-
sciences-primed-for-an-increase.

2. GSK to acquire efimosfermin, a phase III-ready potential best-in-class specialty medicine to
treat and prevent progression of steatotic liver disease (SLD). GSK. [Online] May 14, 2025.
[Cited: May 20, 2025.] https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gsk-to-acquire-
efimosfermin-a-phase-iii-ready-potential-best-in-class-specialty-medicine-to-treat-and-
prevent-progression-of-steatotic-liver-disease-sld/.

3. Novartis bolsters late-stage cardiovascular pipeline with agreement to acquire Anthos
Therapeutics for USD 925 million upfront. Novartis. [Online] February 11, 22025.
https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-bolsters-late-stage-
cardiovascular-pipeline-agreement-acquire-anthos-therapeutics-usd-925-million-upfront.