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Novartis’ acquisition of Chapel Hill-based Oriel Therapeutics in April was one of only eight M&A deals in the biotech, pharma sector nationwide in the second quarter of 2010, according to a new report by VentureDeal LLC.

The Swiss giant purchased the venture-backed startup for its asthma treatments. Meanwhile, nationally, the number of second quarter deals declined by 20 percent from the first quarter, the report says. Of the eight mergers in the sector, totaling $74 million, only two were biotechs, and six were medical device companies.

Financial details of the Oriel transaction were not released payday loans.

Activity was even slower in the Internet e-commerce space, where M&A activity – 31 firms were acquired for $564 million – declined by 38 percent compared with the first quarter.

M&A activity for telecom, wireless, mobile and communications companies declined markedly from the previous quarter, with 54 percent fewer companies being acquired compared to the first quarter, the report says.

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