"Merck & Co. Chief Executive Richard Clark said the drug maker is "actively looking" to buy biotechnology companies in the "single-digit" billions of dollars, but another major takeover of the size of Schering-Plough is "off the table right now."

In an interview, Mr. Clark said Merck is interested in either acquiring outright biotech companies with promising therapies or technologies, or opportunities to partner with them or license rights from them."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...

"Like its rivals in the pharmaceutical industry, Merck has been looking for new products outside its laboratories after suffering research setbacks. Big drug makers need to find new medicines whose sales can make up for the tens of billions of dollars in revenues lost as their top-selling drugs face generic competition.

The industry's difficulties prompted large acquisitions besides the Schering-Plough takeover. Over the past year, Pfizer Inc. bought Wyeth for $68 billion, and Roche Holding AG purchased the stake of Genentech it didn't already own for $47 billion. The deals allow executives to cut billions of dollars in costs, while diversifying their mix of products and restocking anemic research pipelines."