Valeant Pharmaceuticals wants to become the world's biggest player in the skincare sector in about five years, its top executive told Reuters. The company has been signaling its intent with a string of recent mid-sized acquisitions in the highly fragmented but lucrative dermatology sector.

The specialty drug maker will pay $345 million to buy the skincare unit of Johnson & Johnson-owned Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Valeant plans to continue making deals in dermatology as it looks to reach the top faster, chief executive Michael Pearson said. Once its recent deals close, the company will record about $1 billion in revenue from dermatology.

While there is significant competition in the dermatology arena, Valeant will be facing smaller rivals rather than the pharmaceutical giants, which have been beating a hasty retreat from the sector as they look to narrow their focus.

Pearson's philosophy has been to stay clear of the so-called Big Pharma companies but engage in partnerships with them instead. The company is still considering larger takeovers and can pull off a $6 billion deal, Pearson said.

"They're out there buying assets for cash flow and building a broad dermatology presence. It seems like a pretty sound strategy to me," Stifel Nicolaus analyst Annabel Samimy said. "The assets that they're buying are not necessarily the ones that require a significant amount of promotion or expense behind them."