NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to assist the company in exploring options to alleviate its drug-pipeline problems, according to sources close to the situation, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The sources said some of the options include selling the company, buying a smaller company and a merger, the Wall Street Journal said.

The drugmaker has been under pressure recently, with three of its drug patents expiring, the Federal Trade Commission investigating possible anti-competitive actions, and 29 state attorneys general suing the company for blocking the introduction of generic drugs -- and rumors have been circulating that the company was looking for a buyer or merger, the report said.

No discussions have taken place between executives of Bristol and GlaxoSmithKline, Pharmacia or Wyeth, the three companies most likely to partner with the company, the source said, according to the Journal.

Bristol-Myers and Goldman Sachs declined to comment to the Journal.