A small start-up in 1993, Millennium Pharmaceuticals was a name-brand biotechnology company by the end of 1998, with a market capitalization of $1.4 billion. The Cambridge-based company's growth strategy had relied heavily on building alliances for early-stage drug discovery and licensing its gene-based technology.

Addresses the proposed IPO and raises questions regarding how agency costs may rise or fall as Goldman converts from a private partnership to a public limited corporation.