From Time Magazine:

Over $6.4 billion in health-care deals were revealed in San Francisco on Monday as the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference set off. Deals include Merck’s $680 million purchase of cancer drugmaker Harpoon Therapeutics, Boston Scientific’s $3.7 billion acquisition of device-maker Axonics, and Johnson & Johnson’s $2 billion deal with Ambrx Biopharma.

Big pharma seeks to replace blockbusters losing steam. They’re now looking to acquisitions as patents face looming expiration dates and demand slows for once-popular COVID vaccines and treatments. The industry is also nervous about potential government price negotiations under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

The biotech industry saw a surge of deals towards the end of 2023, with weight-loss drug companies and targeted cancer treatments in high demand. Companies developing treatments harnessing the body’s immune system to fight cancer are especially popular. Many drugmakers have been paying more than double a company’s stock price to secure promising therapies.

Investors had a mixed response to the deals. The acquirers showed little change, while the target companies surged. However, some companies missing out on deals saw a dip in their stock prices. Cytokinetics Inc. fell after not being included in the reported acquisitions, despite actively seeking buyers since last fall.

The closely watched XBI ETF that tracks biotech companies showed little change on Monday. Deals weren’t particularly large, not for the names investors were hoping for.



Read more: J&J, Merck, Boston Scientific go on $6.4B buying spree