By Jonathan D. Rockoff
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Tuesday that Chief Operating
Officer Giovanni Caforio will become its next chief executive, as
the leaders who turned the pharmaceutical company into an
immunotherapy powerhouse exit.
Dr. Caforio, 50, will succeed 64-year-old Lamberto Andreotti,
effective May 5. Mr. Andreotti has been Bristol's CEO since 2010
and will become executive chairman of the company's board of
directors after retiring Aug. 3.
A trained physician, Dr. Caforio joined Bristol in 2000 as
general manager of its Italy business and has since been rising
through the company's ranks. In recent years, he has been leading
the commercialization of Bristol's two newly approved cancer drugs,
which work by unleashing the body's immune system to fight
cancer.
Such immunotherapies are a new class of medicines, which
industry officials consider to be transforming cancer treatment.
J.P. Morgan estimates the drugs could command $25 billion in yearly
sales eventually.
Part of Dr. Caforio's charge as CEO will be to maintain
Bristol's early lead in the market despite heavy and increasing
competition from rivals including Merck & Co., which already is
selling one of the drugs.
"I look forward to working with our very talented team of people
at BMS to build on what we've accomplished, to deliver on the
promise of our innovative portfolio and to continue to make a real
difference for our patients," he said in a statement.
Bristol pioneered the move into immunotherapies, starting with
its $2.4 billion purchase of Medarex and then winning approval, in
2013, of skin-cancer immunotherapy Yervoy. Late last year, Bristol
received approval for a second immunotherapy, Opdivo, also for skin
cancer.
Now the company is exploring use of its immunotherapy drugs to
treat other cancers and in combination with other kinds of
therapies.
The focus on immunotherapy was part of Bristol's pivot from a
traditional, diversified big drug maker into one focused on
treating more specialized conditions, like cancer.
Bristol used deals like the acquisition of Medarex to reshape
its portfolio, while shedding noncore businesses selling infant
formula and other products. The company was trying to prepare for
the patent expirations of top-selling products like Plavix and
antihypertensive Avapro.
The transformation hasn't been seamless. Bristol's efforts to
gain a foothold in hepatitis C treatment were set back after its
$2.5 billion deal for Inhibitex in 2012 foundered because a
promising drug program had to be terminated for safety reasons.
Bristol shares rose 11.06% in 2014, compared with a 19.1% gain
for the S&P 500 Pharmaceuticals Index, according to
FactSet.
Mr. Andreotti was among the Bristol executives who conceived and
executed the makeover. Also spearheading the changes was James
Cornelius, currently Bristol's nonexecutive chairman, who became
the company's CEO after the previous leader was forced out in a
scandal involving efforts to delay a generic version of Plavix.
Mr. Cornelius, 71, will retire from the board as part of the
leadership changes, Bristol said. Other architects of Bristol's
transformation have previously left the company, including
executives Elliott Sigal and Jeremy Levin.
Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com
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