Pharma dealmakers making the rounds at drug conferences these days are coming with a message: We're ready to buy, but we're going to be careful.
Representatives for Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb in particular have been making these points as they journey out to meet with biotech companies at industry gatherings. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the word is that they expect to rev up acquisitions this year, but will do so in a deliberate fashion.
The rapid decline in biotech valuations combined with a need to add new products to pharma pipelines at a time many of these companies have money to spend has helped propel the buyout interest.
"If you look across the Big Pharma sector, there are many of us that do have a fair amount of cash right now, which is a good thing," Karen LaRochelle, executive director of business development at Bristol-Myers, tells the Journal.
- read the report in the Wall Street Journal
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