Renewed interest in biopharma M&A

The renewed energy in biotech applies even for companies that aren’t working in obesity, Novartis' Bulto said. — Bloomberg

SAN FRANCISCO: The world’s biggest drugmakers are racing to buy up biotech companies to fill looming holes in their pipelines and pounce on new discoveries, bringing a hopeful buzz back to JPMorgan Chase & Co’s big healthcare conference in San Francisco.

“Opening new markets like obesity is adding optimism,” said Victor Bulto, president of the US unit for Novartis AG on the sidelines of the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, which draws the heads of the world’s biggest drug companies who use the annual confab to broker multibillion-dollar deals.