Surely you jest. It is much more dire than that. "Buying a pipeline" is an endeavor that requires sound scientific judgement, with honest debate, valuing differences of opinion, and checking egos at the door. In other words, the exact opposite of what Merck has become!
The culture is just too far gone to be repaired. Most free-thinking scientists have either bailed out in droves or have been shown the door. The very few bright minds remaining are too scared to ever disagree with senior leadership's hare-brained schemes. They know simply to nod their heads and keep their mouths shut. That leaves us with the vast vocal majority: sycophant process-drivers who long ago surrendered their science-first mentality. They will lecture you about Six Dogma, but these jokers would not know a pipeline from a lead pipe hitting them in their blowhard heads. They would never be able to pick out a gem from the 99% garbage compounds that are out there. Look at our in-licensing track record for the past 10 years. Not exactly stellar. The old cliche comes to mind about a monkey throwing darts and still hitting the target more reliably.
When the Merck corporate obituary is written (in the not too distant future), the main root of the downfall will be the toxic culture instituted at the very highest levels of this organization. A culture of control and distrust. Basically not trusting your employees to make the right decisions, and retribution for the slightest perceived missteps. A culture of stifling any breath of innovation with multiple layers of process. Driven by legal. Letting fear trump science. Essentially a corporate version of North Korea. All driven, ultimately, by the arrogance of top leadership.
Good luck trying to fix this cluster-f*&k of an organization! It ain't happening.