E.R. Squibb & Son facility in Long Island City, New York, in 1948
The Squibb corporation was founded in 1858 byEdward Robinson Squibb inBrooklyn, New York.[8][9] Squibb was known as an advocate of quality control and high purity standards early within the pharmaceutical industry.[10] He went on to self-publish an alternative to theU.S. Pharmacopeia titledSquibb's Ephemeris of Materia Medica, after failing to convince theAmerican Medical Association to incorporate higher purity standards.[11]
Materia Medica, Squibb products, and Edward Squibb's opinion on the fundamentals of pharmacy are found in many medical papers of the late 1800s.[12][13][14][15] TheAmerican Journal of Pharmacy published more than one hundred papers of Squibb's research surrounding the industry.[16]
The sons of Edward Squibb sold the company to Lowell M. Palmer and Theodore Weicker in 1905, who incorporated the company. Around this time, the Squibb logo was developed, which represented the company's products of "uniformity, purity, efficacy, and reliability based on research."[17]
Squibb Corporation served as a major supplier of medical goods to the Union Army during theAmerican Civil War, providing portable medical kits containingmorphine, surgical anesthetics, andquinine for the treatment of malaria (which was endemic in most of the Eastern United States at that time).[18][19]
In 1887,Hamilton College graduatesWilliam McLaren Bristol andJohn Ripley Myers purchased the Clinton Pharmaceutical company ofClinton, New York.[21] In May 1898, they decided to rename itBristol, Myers and Company.[21] Following Myers' death in 1899, Bristol changed the name to theBristol-Myers Corporation.[21]
During the 1890s, the company introduced its first nationally recognized productSal Hepatica, alaxative mineral salt, followed byIpana toothpaste in 1901.[22][23] Other divisions wereClairol (hair colors and haircare) andDrackett (household products such asWindex andDrano).[24]
Penicillin production at the East Syracuse plant ended in 2005, when it became less expensive to produce overseas.[27][28] As of 2010, the facility was used for the manufacturing process development and production of otherbiologic medicines for clinical trials and commercial use.[29][30]
In 1989, Bristol-Myers and Squibb merged and became Bristol-Myers Squibb.[31]
In 1999, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded Bristol-Myers Squibb theNational Medal of Technology, the nation's highest recognition for technological achievement, "for extending, and enhancing human life through innovative pharmaceutical research and development and for redefining the science of clinical study through groundbreaking and hugely complex clinical trials that are recognized models in the industry."[32]
Bristol-Myers Squibb logo from 1989 to 2020The company has a number of facilities in New Jersey; this one is on the border between West Windsor and Princeton.
In July 2006, theFBI raided the company's corporate offices on charges ofcollusion centered on the distribution ofPlavix[33][34] On 12 September 2006, the monitor, former Federal JudgeFrederick B. Lacey, urged the company to remove then-CEOPeter Dolan over the Plavix dispute. Later that day, BMS announced that Dolan would indeed step down.[35] The deferred prosecution agreement expired in June 2007 and the Department of Justice did not take any further legal action against the company for matters covered by the DPA. Under CEO Jim Cornelius, who was CEO following Dolan until May 2010, all executives involved in the "channel-stuffing" and generic competition scandals have since left the company.
In 2009, the company began a major restructuring focusing on the pharmaceutical business and biologic products, along with productivity initiatives and cost-cutting and streamlining business operations through a multiyear program of on-going layoffs. This was part of a business strategy launched in 2007 to transform the company from a large, diversified pharmaceutical company to a specialty biopharma company, which also included the closure of half of their manufacturing facilities.[36]: 19 As another cost-cutting measure, Bristol-Myers Squibb also reduced health-care subsidies for retirees and planned to freeze their pension plan at the end of 2009.[37][38]
In 2010, Lou Schmukler joined Bristol-Myers Squibb as the president of global product development and design.[36][40] Schmukler led the team that completed the company's strategic transformation to a specialty biopharmaceutical company that had begun in 2007.[36] As of 2011, the company had a dozen manufacturing facilities and six product development sites.[36]
The company was ranked as the best drug company of 2013 byForbes magazine.[41]
In December 2014, the company received FDA approval for the use of thePD-1 inhibitornivolumab (Opdivo) in treating patients whose skin cancer cannot be removed or have not responded to previous drug therapies.[42] In February 2015, the company initiated a research partnership with Rigel Pharmaceuticals which could generate more than $339 million. In March, the company obtained an exclusive opportunity to both licence and commercialisePROSTVAC,Bavarian Nordic's phase III prostate-specific antigen targeting cancer immunotherapy. Bavarian Nordic would receive an upfront payment of $60 million and incremental payments up to $230 million, if the overall survival of test patients exceeds that seen in Phase II tests. Bavarian could also receive milestone payments of between $110 million and $495 million, dependent on regulatory authorization, and these payments have the potential to total up to $975 million.[43]
In May 2015, Giovanni Caforio became CEO of the company;[44] Caforio was formerly the company'sCOO and succeededLamberto Andreotti upon his retirement.[39] Andreotti subsequently succeeded James Cornelius asExecutive Chairman upon his retirement.[39]
Corporate acquisitions and divestments as Bristol Myers Squibb
In August 2009, during a major restructuring activity, BMS acquired thebiotechnology firmMedarex as part of the company's "String of Pearls" strategy of alliances, partnerships, and acquisitions.[45][46] In November 2009, Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it was "splitting off"Mead Johnson Nutrition by offering BMY shareholders the opportunity to exchange their stock for shares in Mead Johnson.[47] According to Bristol Myers Squibb, this move was expected to further sharpen the company's focus on biopharmaceuticals.[47]
In October 2010, the company acquiredZymoGenetics, securing an existing product, as well as pipeline assets in hepatitis C, cancer, and other therapeutic areas.[citation needed]
Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to pay around $2.5 billion in cash to buy Inhibitex Inc. in attempt to compete withGilead/Pharmasset to producehepatitis C drugs. The settlement will be finished in 2 months for its Inhibitex's shareholders acceptance of 126% premium price of its price over the previous 20 trading days ended on 6 January.[48] On 29 June, BMS extended its portfolio ofdiabetes treatments when it agreed to buyAmylin Pharmaceuticals for aroundUS$5.3 billion in cash and payUS$1.7 billion toEli Lilly to cover Amylin's debt and its outstanding collaboration-related obligations.[49]AstraZeneca, which already collaborated on several diabetes treatments with BMS, agreed to pay US$3.4 billion in cash for the right to continue development of Amylin's products.[49] Two years later, the company divested Amylin to AstraZeneca.[36]: 19
In April 2014, BMS announced its acquisition of iPierian for up to $725 million.[50]
In February 2015, the company acquired Flexus Biosciences for $1.25 billion. As part of this deal, BMS will gain full rights to Flexus' lead small moleculeIDO1-inhibitor, F001287.[51] In November, the company acquired thecardiovascular disease drug developer Cardioxyl for up to $2.075 billion. The deal strengthens the BMS' critical pipelines with the phase II candidate foracute decompensated heart failure,CXL-1427.[52]
In March 2016, the company announced it would acquire Padlock Therapeutics for up to $600 million.[53] In early July, the company announced it would acquire Cormorant Pharmaceuticals for $520 million, boosting BMS' oncology offering through Cormorantsmonoclonal antibody targeted againstinterleukin-8.[54]
In August 2017, the company acquiredIFM Therapeutics for $300 million upfront, with contingency payments of $1.01 billion due on certain milestones – allowing BMS to better compete againstMerck & Co's cancer rival treatment,Keytruda.[55]
In November 2019, the company acquiredCelgene for $74 billion or $95 billion including debt. To gain regulatory approval,Amgen acquiredOtezla fromCelgene for $13.4 billion.[56][57][58] The Celgene acquisition aimed to be a refresher to the company's pipeline, helping to overcome from declining sales ofOpdivo relative to competitorKeytruda.[59] BMS investorsWellington Management Company andStarboard Value opposed the merger;[59] however, 75% of its shareholders voted to approve.[60][61][62][63]
In July 2019, the company sold its consumer health business, UPSA, toTaisho Pharmaceutical.[64] UPSA focused product delivery on France and the rest of Europe. As early as 2005, the company had divested individual consumer products,[65][66] and its US- and Canada-focused consumer products business.[67]
In February 2020, BMS and partner Biomotiv launched a new company called Anteros Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on creating inflammation and fibrosis medicines.[68] In August, the business announced it would acquire Forbius and itsTGF-beta 1 &TGF-beta 3 inhibitors.[69] In October, BMS announced it would acquire cardiology company MyoKardia for $13.1 billion ($225 per share) gaining control of mavacamten, a cardiovascular drug forobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and the development of two key treatments:danicamtiv (MYK-491) andMYK-224.[70]
In August 2022, BMS acquired Turning Point Therapeutics for $4.1 billion in cash, helping to boost its complement of cancer drugs, specificallyrepotrectinib.[71][72] That same month, the company announced it would be investing $180m in French AI companyOwkin, to design potentially more precise and efficient clinical trials. The collaboration will initially focus on cardiovascular diseases, and has the potential to extend into projects in other therapeutic areas.[73]
In August 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb partnered with Cellares for the robotic production of CAR-T treatments of which it has two approved.[74] In September 2023, BMS announced it would pay Zenas BioPharma $50m upfront for a strategic license and collaboration to develop and commercialiseobexelimab,[75] a novel, bi-functional antibody for autoimmune diseases.
In January 2024, BMS acquiredMirati Therapeutics, an American biotechnology company that develops targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer, for $4.8 billion, and an additional $1 billion in milestone payment.[76][77]
In March 2024, BMS acquired Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion.[78][79] The acquisition included Karuna's lead asset,KarXT, an investigational muscarinic antipsychotic combination ofXanomeline andTrospium for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults.[79][80]
In February 2024, the company acquired RayzeBio for approximately $4.1 billion.[81][82]
Opdivo (nivolumab) is aprogrammed death receptor blocking antibody used for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma and metastatic squamousnon-small-cell lung carcinoma. In contrast to traditional chemotherapies and targeted anti-cancer therapies, which exert their effects by direct cytotoxic or tumor growth inhibition, nivolumab acts by inducing the immune system to attack the tumor.[85]
Taxol (paclitaxel). At one time, BMS held the solitary contract to harvest the bark of endangeredyew trees on United States territory for the manufacture ofchemotherapy drugpaclitaxel (Taxol). Current paclitaxel production comes from renewable sources.[citation needed] BMS also held the original paclitaxel license, but there are now multiple generic producers.[86]
The following is a selective list of investigational products under development, as of 2023:[87]
Luspatercept - phase III: On 28 August 2023, BMS' drug Reblozyl has received FDA label expansion, making it a first-line treatment option foranemia in adults with low- to intermediate-riskmyelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who may need regular blood transfusions. This decision, supported by data from the Phase III COMMANDS study, highlights Reblozyl's superiority overerythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in treating MDS-related anemia, potentially driving the drug's sales towards its $4 billion sales goal by 2030. The drug's efficacy in patients both with and without specific symptoms further widens its scope of application.[88][89][90]
In 2002, the company was sued by 29 states for illegally maintaining a monopoly onTaxol, its cancer treatment and was sued in a separate case for trying to keep a generic version ofBuSpar off the market. It paid $125 million to settle the Taxol case and a total of $670 million to settle both cases.[120]
Also in 2002, Bristol-Myers Squibb was involved in anaccounting scandal that resulted in a significant restatement of revenues from 1999 to 2001.[121] The restatement was the result of an improper booking of sales related to "channel stuffing" as the practice of offering excess inventory to customers to create higher sales numbers.[121] The company settled with theUnited States Department of Justice andSecurities and Exchange Commission for $150 million.[122] In 2004, the company restated its financial results for the previous 5 years.[123] As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the company was placed under the oversight of a monitor appointed by the U.S. attorney in New Jersey. In addition, the former head of the Pharma group, Richard Lane, and the ex-CFO, Fred Schiff, were indicted for federal securities violations.[124]
Bristol-Myers Squibb was one of the named defendants in a $1 billion lawsuit for infecting hundreds of Guatemalans withsyphilis during theGuatemala syphilis experiments. In 2022, the company was dismissed from the lawsuit, though the reason for the dismissal was not publicly disclosed.[125]
^Hollopeter, W.C. (8 January 1885)."Inverse Type of Temperature in Typhoid Fever, with a Report of Two Cases — Temperature Peculiarities in Epidemics, with a Report of Seven Cases in One Family".Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.112:28–32.doi:10.1056/NEJM188308301090903.Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved25 November 2014.The writer noticed (in December, 1882) the important fact that when common or Japan camphor and crystallized carbolic acid are mixed together and subjected to heat, a colorless liquid would be the result. The only reference he finds so far with regard to this reaction occurs in the very excellent and valuable scientific publication of Dr. E. R. Squibb, " Ephemeris of Materia Medica", etc., on page 673, vol. ii., No. 5, where a brief allusion appears under the appellation of Compound Alum Powder. Dr. F. R. Squibb, however, in a letter to the writer states that he has " several times before heard of this reaction between phenol and camphor.
^Blake, J.B. (1899)."Administration of Ether at the Boston City Hospital".Boston Med Surg J.141 (13):312–314.doi:10.1056/NEJM189909281411303.Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved5 July 2019.Until within six months Squibb's other has been exclusively used at the Boston City Hospital. Recently .MeliiHTéift's ether has been tried, ¡uni has given fair satisfaction; Squibb's is still preferred by most of the house officers.
^Brown, W.S. (1885)."Forty Year's Experience in Midwifery".Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.112 (11): 241.doi:10.1056/nejm188503121121101.Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved5 July 2019.One reason why ergot has fallen into disrepute is the poor quality of many specimens offered for sale. Dr. Squibb's aqueous extract rarely disappoints me.
^abHerbst-Bayliss, Svea; Erman, Michael (28 February 2019)."Starboard joins opposition to Bristol-Myers' $74 billion Celgene deal".Reuters.Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved3 March 2019.Starboard reported on Thursday that it now owns 4.4 million shares, or 0.3 percent of Bristol's outstanding shares, while Wellington owns an 8 percent stake.
^ab"Excedrin brand for sale". News > Fortune 500. CNN Money. Reuters. 12 January 2005.Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved3 August 2020.
^"Our Members".National Health Council.Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved19 June 2022.
^"PAAB : About".Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board / Conseil Consultatif de Publicité Pharmaceutique.Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved19 June 2022.
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