The man who recently said he did not permanently want the job as C.E.O. of Bristol-Myers Squibb was named to the post on Thursday. James Cornelius had been the interim chief executive since the company's board fired former C.E.O. Peter Dolan in September.

Cornelius certainly has the résumé for the position. He served as chief financial officer of Eli Lilly and president and C.E.O. of Guidant, which was bought by Boston Scientific. He has been on the board of Bristol-Myers for more than two years. Asked by a Wall Street analyst during a conference call about why he'd had a change of heart about taking over, Cornelius said that with time he has become more confident in the company's prospects.

The appointment comes as Bristol-Myers attempts to shrug off a series of financial and legal setbacks. Dolan was ousted after a failed attempt to delay the introduction of generic competitors to Plavix, the company's top-selling drug. Recently, the attorney general in New York has subpoenaed documents from Bristol-Myers' patent litigation for an antitrust-related investigation.

All the action has fueled speculation that Bristol-Myers is on the auction block. Takeover talk has driven its shares up nearly 50 percent since last summer. During the conference call, another analyst asked Cornelius if his appointment indicates that the company isn't for sale. "I think we are trying to run the business as a freestanding, independent company and to do the right things for the long-term value of shareholders, and we're very much on target at this stage," Cornelius said.

Bristol-Myers also announced that it has entered into a partnership with Pfizer to develop treatments for heart disease and other conditions.

Bristol-Myers' quarterly earnings announcement took a backseat to the company's other major news today. The drugmaker's sales fell 4 percent and profit declined 3 percent during the first quarter. Still, its earnings of 35 cents per share topped Wall Street estimates of 23 cents per share.

While anything is still possible, the Pfizer deal and the C.E.O. appointment are signs that the company is trying to create a future for itself. "Bristol may be no less willing to entertain offers, but it does show their resolve to succeed and evolve as a profitable organization focused on higher-margin therapeutic areas and enterprises if their price is not met," Lehman Brothers analyst Charles Butler told the Associated Press.