Big Pharma Eyes One-Hit Wonders With Megadeals Out of Favor (1)

Pharmaceutical companies are racing to snap up innovative biotechs with a flurry of bolt-on purchases, shying away from the megadeals that once marked the sector as they attempt to fill looming gaps in their pipelines.

Novartis AG agreed to buy MorphoSys AG on Monday to gain an experimental medicine for blood cancer, which fits with its own. The deal is one of six worth over $1 billion that have been announced this year alone. Others include Sanofi’s planned purchase of the US biotech Inhibrx Inc. and Johnson & Johnson’s agreement forAmbrx Biopharma Inc.

The acquisitions often ...