[Excerpt] M&A activities are deeply embedded into the culture of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole. Based upon a survey of pharmaceutical executives, 50% anticipate their M&A activity will drive between a quarter and half of projected growth in the next two years. Such deals within the pharmaceutical industry help firms find potential synergies, increase cooperation in areas of operational capabilities as well as transfer of functional and managerial capabilities between merging firms. However, when it comes to post merger integration efforts, companies may overlook various people, process and technological factors that can hamper M&As efforts and worse yet, cripple such a transaction from achieving desired results. A survey done by Deloitte found that respondents believed that effective integration efforts was one of the important factors for a successful M&A transaction, with 23% respondents reporting it. It is critical for companies considering an M&A or in the process of such a transition to consider the major pitfalls that may occur post-merger and prepare mitigation strategies in order to support firm-wide initiatives around integration.