AstraZeneca's ($AZN) first-quarter earnings report was a stark indication of why its new CEO Pascal Soriot is scrambling to buy some new drugs the company can lean on. Sales dropped 12% and core earnings fell 21%, and so the company today announced it will pay $1.15 billion to buy Pearl Therapeutics and its LABA/LAMA COPD therapy. It comes weeks after the company picked up a late-stage cardiovascular program but also days after it said it was giving up on the rheumatoid arthritis drug fostamatinib. Soriot had planned on restructuring the foundering company with early-stage programs and a stable of in-house projects. But when analysts balked, he switched course. Story | More