AstraZeneca CFO Aradhana Sarin outlined the company's acquisition strategy and its growing obesity portfolio during a JPMorgan Health-Care Conference interview. Speaking with Bloomberg's Katie Greifeld, Sarin addressed how the drugmaker plans to deploy capital in a competitive market. The discussion centered on balancing bolt-on deals with larger transformative purchases.

The push into weight-loss treatments comes as pharma giants race to dominate the lucrative GLP-1 market. AstraZeneca is playing catch-up to rivals like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, whose diabetes and obesity drugs have generated massive sales. Investors are keen to see if AstraZeneca will buy its way into the field or develop drugs internally.

Sarin signaled that deal-making remains a priority, though the company will stay disciplined on price. With a strong balance sheet, AstraZeneca can afford strategic buys. The focus now shifts to upcoming clinical trial data and whether the company will make a major acquisition to accelerate its entry into the booming obesity market.