Dr Kamat and his team covered the surface of an experimentalcell made of cadmium sulphide, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide with nanotubes, so that the tubes stuck up from the surface like hairs.
However, on a July 31 conference call, Bristol's Cornelius said the deal had been inspired not just by the improving prospects for Erbitux, which recently had good study results in non-small-cell lung cancer, but also by the promising experimental cancer drugs ImClone has advanced over the past two years.