Still waiting for the big impact
The company in today’s form was established in 1989 when the Squibb Corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, and the Bristol-Myers Corporation based in Clinton, New York, merged under the current name. Both predecessor companies had a long tradition, dating back to the second half of the 19th century. An interesting fact of the Squibb Corporation is that shortly after its foundation in 1858 it became one of the major medical suppliers of the Union Army in the American Civil War. After the acquisition of Celgene in 2019, there was not the expected major impact for BMS, especially in relation to the size of the mega deal. This fact was caused, among others, by a major patent cliff, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and problems around two highly promising CAR T-cell therapies.The importance of key products
The acquisition of Celgene was important for BMS to get its hands on the company’s top product Revlimid, a drug used to treat cancer. In fact, Revlimid was Bristol-Myer Squibb’s top product over the last few years. However, due to loss of patent exclusivity, the drug saw a significant decrease from over 12 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to just around six billion in 2023. Currently, Eliquis, a drug used to treat blood clots, is the company’s top-selling product. Eliquis was developed in cooperation with Pfizer in 2007 and was approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in 2012. The third key product is another cancer drug, Opdivo. Although it is forecast to become one of the best-selling drugs worldwide by 2028, it will face strong competition by Merck & Co.’s cancer drug Keytruda.
