All of these deals come as no surprise. It had to build up its pipeline somehow. In all fairness, Abbott isn't the only big pharma firm with a pipeline problem. In actuality, though, these firms produce an average of 0.4 to 0.8 new drugs a year, and biopharmaceuticals are accounting for an increasing number of these drugs. Indeed, all of Abbott's new biopharmaceutical partners are convinced that they will strengthen Abbott's pipeline.
Biopharmaceutical firms help big pharma firms break out of pure synthetic chemistry.
It doesn't have to reinvent the wheel. It can just go out and acquire it, consolidate it. It's cheaper for big pharma, and it helps keep the biopharmaceutical firms going. If a big pharmaceutical company wants to get a strong position in a therapeutic area, it can just purchase the biopharmaceutical firm's expertise. It's a fast, efficient way of doing business.