J&J, Merck and Boston Scientific go on $6.4 billion buying spree

More than $6.4 billion in healthcare deals were announced on Monday at the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco as companies like Johnson & Johnson and Merck look to acquisitions to replenish their revenue streams. 

The deals include Merck's $680 million purchase of cancer drugmaker Harpoon Therapeutics, Boston Scientific's $3.7 billion acquisition of device-maker Axonics and J&J's $2 billion deal to buy Ambrx Biopharma, whose therapies target tumors with lethal drugs.

Big pharma has been hungry for ways to replace blockbusters that are losing steam, as patents face expiration dates and demand slows for once-popular COVID vaccines and treatments. The industry is also sweating government price negotiations under US President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

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The end of 2023 brought a frenzy of biotech deals, with weight-loss drug companies and targeted cancer treatments in the highest demand. In some cases, drugmakers are paying more than double a company's stock price to secure promising therapies. It's a big reversal from a year ago, when drugmakers were laying off employees and cutting costs. 

Investors have mostly cheered the deals and expectations for big acquisitions remains high. Cytokinetics fell by as much as 8.4% Monday after it wasn't included in the slew of deal announcements. The company, which develops cardiovascular treatments, has been courting buyers since last fall, according to Bloomberg News reports.