Corporate Law Blog

Pharmaceutical uses acquisition to make itself more competitive

For companies looking to become more competitive in the marketplace, maintaining a lookout for potentially valuable acquisitions is an important task. Acquisitions, when entered into strategically and with proper legal guidance, can help a company to enhance its offerings and become more competitive. In industries where innovation is critical to success, buying out competitors can be a smart move.

Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb announced this week its plan to purchase Flexus, a privately held biotechnology company which has been working to develop innovative cancer treatments. In particular, Bristol-Myers Squibb is interested in acquiring information concerning new treatments that help a patient’s immune system to identify and kill tumors. Such cancer treatments are sometimes referred to as immunotherapy or immune-oncology.

According to the American Cancer Society, immunotherapy comes in different varieties, including those which make use of targeted antibodies, those which enhance the immune system generally, and those considered to be cancer vaccines. Bristol-Myers Squibb has taken a greater interest in such treatments, and is steering its acquisitions toward increasing its resources in that field of study.

Obviously, a lot of planning goes into successful acquisitions, both from a legal angle and from a business strategy angle. This is especially the case when the acquisition is contested. For this reason, it is important to work with an experienced attorney throughout the process. Clients who work with our firm can be sure that we have the experience, expertise and commitment necessary to set their acquisition up effectively and in accordance with their goals, and to see it through to successful completion.

Source: Kentucky.com, “Bristol-Myers adds to cancer-treatment push with acquisition,” Feb. 23, 2015.