Bristol-Myers Squibb to acquire Adnexus

Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Adnexus Therapeutics to acquire the privately-held biologics developer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire all outstanding and issued shares in Adnexus for the gross sum of $430 million (214 million pounds), with additional sums of up to $75 million in total to be paid in three payments upon the attainment of specified development and regulatory landmarks.

Adnexus manufactures a new biologics class dubbed Adnectins using its proprietary protein design engine known as PROfusion. One of these Adnectins – Angiocept – is an anti-angiogenic compound currently in phase I of clinical development.

Jim Cornelius, chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: “Bringing Adnexus into the Bristol-Myers Squibb family builds upon a successful and productive collaboration between the two companies in oncology and is an important step in accelerating the strategic transformation of our pharmaceutical business to a biopharma business model.”

He added that biologics constitute a key foundation of the company’s strategy for growth, with this acquisition complementing the firm’s ongoing investment in its biologics research and development pipeline and drug portfolio.

In February 2007, Bristol-Myers Squibb formed a collaboration with Adnexus for the discovery, development and marketing of compounds for the modulation of oncology targets with a high clinical impact.