• The New York Times , Friday, August 1, 2008 11:15 AM

Bristol-Myers Squibb's offer Thursday for the remaining 83% of ImClone Systems that it doesn't own comes during a period in which traditional pharmaceutical companies are buying smaller biotechnology players to replenish their pipelines. It comes on the heels of Roche offering to buy the remaining 44% of its longtime biotechnology partner, Genentech.

Biotechnology companies like Genentech and ImClone sell so-called biologic products, which are made in living cells. Such drugs are particularly attractive to companies because they are not subject to generic competition. There is no process for approving generic copies of biologics.

In addition to full rights to Erbitux, which is approved for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and for use in the treatment of cancer of the head and neck, Bristol-Myers would acquire a pipeline of five antibodies now under development. Antibodies are proteins that attack invading pathogens. Last December, Bristol-Myers had said its strategy involved selling off some of its more traditional assets and becoming a "next generation biopharma" company.

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