Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK), Eli Lilly (LLY) to go Acquisition Route?

with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) alone about to lose $10 billion in revenue from the ending of its patent on Lipitor, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Pfizer not getting approval for certain drugs in the pipeline, and Merck (NYSE:MRK) abandoning two of its major clinical trials, the question is what will replace the existing pipelines of the companies.

The answer appears to be they will have to closely watch their smaller competitors with drugs coming up, and from there make strategic acquisitions.

There is risk on both sides there, as they have the challenge of acquiring a smaller company before approval of a drug in order to beat their larger competitors to it, but also the risk of a drug thought to be viable not being approved.

Astrazeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN ), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Bayer were all recently downgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on similar concerns.