The all-cash deal for Adnexus Therapeutics, which could go another $75 million higher depending upon certain milestones, gives the big drugmaker a beachhead into biologics, a more complex science but also a lucrative field given the high prices charged for these meds. The acquisition is “an important step in accelerating the strategic transformation of our pharmaceutical business to a biopharma business model,” says Bristol-Myers ceo Jim Cornelius, in a statement.

The biotech has developed a proprietary class of targeted biologics called Adnectins, which Bristol hopes will one day yield meds for various therapies. Right now, Adnexus is working on an early-stage trial for a cancer treatment called Angiocept, an anti-angiogenic drug that would stop cancerous tumors from developing new blood vessels. The biotech will remain in Waltham, Massachusettts, and function as a subisidiary. The deal, by the way, means that Adenexus won’t be going public, after all.