String of Pearls

In early 2007, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. concluded it needed to give itself a dose of strong medicine if it were to survive and prosper. This meant doing a serious assessment of where it could be competitive, building on these areas and divesting or spending less where it wasn't strong.

Last week's acquisition of Kosan Biosciences Inc. falls squarely into the former category. It is designed to beef up BMS's epothilone pipeline by adding a compound to back up breast cancer drug Ixempra ixabepilone. But it was Kosan's three other programs that convinced Bristol-Myers that an acquisition made more sense than a license...