The pharmaceutical industry could be in for a wave of consolidation in the wake of this week’s announcement that Pfizer, the world’s third-largest drug company by sales, will take over rival Pharmacia Corp in an all-stock offer valued at US$54 billion. It is now up to the companies’ competition lawyers to prove that product lines are complementary rather than overlapping. The combined company will have an overall drug market share of about 11 per cent.