The Bristol Myers Squibb Research and Development Center at Cambridge Crossing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States on Wednesday, December 27, 2023.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bristol Myers Squibb The group reported higher-than-expected first-quarter revenue on Thursday, with its blockbuster anticoagulant Eliquis and several new drugs seeing sales growth.
But the pharmaceutical company posted a quarterly loss due to one-time charges related to its recently completed deals. He also launched a program to cut costs by $1.5 billion by 2025 and said he would reinvest that money into drug development.
Bristol Myers said it would prioritize investments in its core drug brands and focus resources on research and development programs likely to generate the highest returns, among other efforts.
For the first quarter, Bristol Myers said its charges primarily reflected its $14 billion acquisition of neuroscientific drugmaker Karuna Therapeutics and its collaboration deal with SystImmune, a subsidiary of a Chinese biotech startup, to co-develop and commercialize its experimental cancer treatment.
The deals come as Bristol Myers faces pressure to launch new drugs and offset the potential loss of revenue from top-selling treatments. The company’s popular blood cancer treatment Revlimid — and possibly Eliquis and cancer immunotherapy Opdivo — face competition from cheaper copycats.
Here’s what Bristol Myers Squibb reported for the first quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Loss per share: $4.40 adjusted versus $4.44 expected
- Revenue: $11.87 billion versus $11.46 billion expected
Bristol Myers, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, reported a net loss of $11.9 billion, or $5.89 per share, during the first quarter. That compares to net income of $2.3 billion, or $1.07 per share, for the same period a year ago.
Excluding certain items, its adjusted loss per share was $4.40 for the period.
The loss reflects a one-time charge of $6.30 per share related to recently completed transactions, Bristol Myers said in a statement.
Bristol Myers reported first-quarter revenue of $11.87 billion, up 5% from the year-ago period.
The company reiterated its full-year revenue forecast of low single-digit growth. But Bristol Myers lowered its 2024 adjusted earnings forecast to between 40 and 70 cents per share to reflect the impact of recent transactions.
That compares with a previous forecast of $7.10 to $7.40 per share, which did not include fees related to buyouts of Karuna Therapeutics and radiopharmaceutical company RayzeBio, as well as divestitures and other items.
Eliquis, new drugs show growth
Bristol Myers said revenue growth for the first quarter was primarily due to higher sales of Eliquis and some of its newer drugs.
Eliquis reported revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, up 9% from the same period last year. Analysts expected Eliquis to generate $3.59 billion in revenue, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.
Eliquis, with which Bristol Myers shares Pfizer, is among the top 10 drugs subject to ongoing price negotiations with the federal Medicare program. The anticoagulant is expected to lose its commercial exclusivity by 2028.
Anemia drug Reblozyl and advanced melanoma treatment Opdualag also saw revenue growth in the first quarter.
Reblozyl reported revenue of $354 million, up 72% from the year-ago period. Analysts expected revenue of $330.8 million, according to FactSet.
Opdualag generated revenue of $206 million in the first quarter, an increase of 76% compared to the same period last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $206.5 million, according to FactSet estimates.
The performance of other new drugs fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.
Abecma, a cell therapy for a rare blood cancer called multiple myeloma, generated $82 million in revenue for the quarter. Analysts expected revenue of $112.6 million, according to FactSet.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month expanded its approval of the drug, allowing multiple myeloma patients to use it as an early treatment.
Meanwhile, Revlimid reported revenue of $1.67 billion, down 5% from the same period last year.
Still, that beat analysts’ revenue expectations, which were $1.22 billion for the drug, according to FactSet estimates.
Opdivo generated $2.07 billion in sales for the quarter, down 6% from the first quarter of 2023. Analysts expected the drug to generate $2.3 billion in revenue for the period, according to FactSet estimates.
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