Welcome to Pharmaceutical Executive Daily, your quick briefing on the top news shaping the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb held discussions about a potential merger that would rank among the largest deals in pharmaceutical history, the Financial Times reported Sunday, with a person familiar with the matter confirming the talks to Reuters on Monday. A potential combination would carry a market capitalization of nearly $400 billion — AstraZeneca at approximately $264 billion and Bristol Myers at $133 billion — and would create the world's largest pharmaceutical company by revenue. AstraZeneca shares dropped as much as 7% Monday while Bristol Myers gained roughly 6% in US premarket trading. Thanks for listening to Pharmaceutical Executive Daily.