Looking to advance its biologics strategy, Bristol-Myers Squibb
The $430 million seems like a hefty price for one phase 1 drug, but Adnexus has a robust pipeline of preclinical compounds and its own protein design engine that should be able to churn out drug ideas faster than the scientists can test them.
With this move, Bristol-Myers joins a growing trend of large-cap pharmaceutical companies looking to develop biologic compounds in-house. Earlier this month, Pfizer
Bristol-Myers shares are up about 10% year to date. The stock carries a healthy annual dividend yield of 3.9%, but its price has stagnated in recent months. Bristol-Myers shareholders hope this push toward becoming more of a biopharma will translate into the stock price going up in the not too distant future.