The purchase will bolster its cancer fighting pipeline.

Drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb disclosed it would be acquiring privately held IFM Therapeutics for $300 million. The acquisition, backed by Novartis, will boost its cancer portfolio, since it will be able to access IFM’s preclinical cancer programs.

Incidentally, IFM investors are also eligible to additional contingent payments of up to $1.01 billion once certain milestones have been reached, said both companies in a statement.

In recent months, Bristol-Myers has come under increasing pressure from activist investors.

The merger is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb lags behind Merck in the key field of immuno-oncology after its Opdivo drug failed to prolong survival rates in previously untreated patients with non-small cell lung cancer, which is the largest cancer market.