At a time when drugmakers Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk are scrambling to meet demand for their popular weight-loss medications, other manufacturers are struggling. Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced that it plans to cut $1.5 billion in expenses by the end of 2025, including laying off more than 2,200 employees.

Patents are set to expire for the company's two top-selling drugs – the blood thinner Eliquis, which it sells with Pfizer, and the cancer immunotherapy Opdivo. Eliquis also is one of the first 10 drugs the government has targeted for price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. Its third highest-grossing product, the multiple myeloma treatment Revlimid, already faces limited generic competition.

To prepare for those coming losses, Bristol-Myers Squibb is focused on acquisitions, including deals over the past six months to purchase Karuna Therapeutics, RayzeBio and Mirati Therapeutics. These deals have brought in prospective treatments for schizophrenia, a type of neuroendocrine tumor and lung cancer.