<Page>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 21.1

                 SUBSIDIARIES OF THE COMPANY AS OF FEBRUARY 2003

<Table>
<Caption>
Name                                           Jurisdiction of Organization          Location
- ----                                           ----------------------------          --------
                                                                               
BBI Biotech Research Laboratories, Inc.        Massachusetts                         Gaithersburg, MD

BBI Source Scientific, Inc.                    Massachusetts                         Garden Grove, CA

BBI BioSeq, Inc.                               Massachusetts                         Gaithersburg, MD
</Table>