Investment bankers: Does the recent lack of deal activity have you worried about feeding your family? Don’t despair. There is money in drugs. The world’s top 10 drug companies are sitting on more than $85bn in cash and short-term securities. And they are getting ready to use it. The economy may be tanking, but pill pushers are poised to take advantage of the crash by swooping on rivals. Wyeth’s interest in Crucell, a Dutch vaccine-maker, is the latest sign that pharmaceuticals groups are preparing to open their vaults. Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, is also on the prowl.

Pressure to do deals is mounting. Many of the biggest pharma groups need to secure new revenue streams before patents on lucrative drugs expire. Lipitor, Pfizer’s blockbuster anti-cholesterol drug, loses its patent protection in 2011. That will send prices plunging for a product that contributes $13bn a year in sales. Rivals are in the same boat with more than a dozen top-selling medicines set to lose protected status by 2012. Something needs to be done to fill the gap. Research is too slow. Acquisitions could help.