in the ordinary course of business, including the receipt of a portion of the Protonix patent litigation settlement income and payments against legal accruals (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—Note 4. Other (Income)/Deductions—Net and Note 17A5. Commitments and Contingencies: Legal Proceedings—Certain Matters Resolved During 2013).

2012 v. 2011

Our net cash provided by operating activities was $16.7 billion in 2012, compared to $20.2 billion in 2011. The decrease in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to:

 • the loss of exclusivity of Lipitor, as well as certain other products, resulting in lower revenues and associated expenses (see also "Our Operating Environment—Intellectual Property Rights and Collaboration/Licensing Rights" section of this Financial Review), partially offset by spending reductions resulting from our company-wide cost-reduction initiatives;

• payments made in connection with certain legal matters; and

• the timing of other receipts and payments in the ordinary course of business.

Investing Activities

2013 v. 2012

Our net cash used in investing activities was $10.6 billion in 2013, compared to net cash provided by investing activities of $6.2 billion in 2012. The increase in net cash used by investing activities was primarily attributable to:

• the nonrecurrence of net proceeds received on November 30, 2012 from the sale of our Nutrition business of $11.85 billion (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements––Note 2B. Acquisitions, Divestitures, Collaborative Arrangements and Equity-Method Investments: Divestitures); and

• net purchases of investments of $9.4 billion in 2013, compared to net purchases of investments of $3.4 billion in 2012,

partially offset by:

• cash paid of $1.1 billion, net of cash acquired, for our acquisitions of Alacer, Ferrosan and NextWave in 2012 (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements––Note 2A. Acquisitions, Divestitures, Collaborative Arrangements and Equity-Method Investments: Acquisitions).

2012 v. 2011

Our net cash provided by investing activities was $6.2 billion in 2012, compared to $1.8 billion in 2011. The increase in net cash provided by investing activities was primarily attributable to:

• net proceeds from the sale of our Nutrition business of $11.85 billion in 2012 compared to net proceeds from the sale of our Capsugel business of $2.4 billion in 2011 (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements––Note 2B. Acquisitions, Divestitures, Collaborative Arrangements and Equity-Method Investments: Divestitures); and

• cash paid of $1.1 billion, net of cash acquired, for our acquisitions of Alacer, Ferrosan and NextWave in 2012 (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements––Note 2A. Acquisitions, Divestitures, Collaborative Arrangements and Equity-Method Investments: Acquisitions), compared to $3.3 billion cash paid, net of cash acquired, in 2011, for our acquisitions of King, Icagen and Excaliard,

partially offset by:

• net purchases of investments of $3.4 billion in 2012, compared to net proceeds from redemptions and sales of investments of $4.1 billion in 2011, which were primarily used to finance our