Moving forward, the pharmaceutical sector is bound to evolve. Despite reliance on trusted methods and practices, progression is natural, especially in a market as forward-looking as much as this one. Companies big and small in this area of the health sector are finding new and innovative ways to stay relevant, often by changing focus. As part of its mid-2023 pharma and life science outlook report, which focuses on US deals done so far this year, international accounting firm PWC points to several trends that are shaping up in the space: Immunology and oncology are gaining a lot of interest from Big Pharma following significant scientific breakthroughs in these key therapeutic areas. The steady pace of M&A activity in the pharma sector is expected to continue despite headwinds. Big Pharma companies are looking to pick up early and development-stage companies to "fill the pipeline gaps" likely on the horizon in 2024 as many of the larger profit-making drugs begin to go off patent. Key M&A targets will be those with the potential to "accelerate the push towards patient-centric ecosystems and product-enabled services." Although they are high-risk stocks from the get-go, investors can look to pharmaceutical companies for long-term returns. Pharmaceutical exchange-traded funds also exist as a way for investors to introduce themselves to the market or watch trends.