By Jonathan D. Rockoff and Tess Stynes
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Thursday its second-quarter
revenue rose 7% thanks to a boost from sales of its new Opdivo
cancer drug, results indicating the company's big bet on such
immunotherapies is paying off.
For years, researchers struggled to figure out how to enlist the
body's own immune defenses in the fight against cancer, and many
companies shied away from the field due to the risks. Now,
immunotherapy sales are helping propel sales growth at Bristol,
while rivals including Merck & Co. and Roche Holding AG are
joining the fray.
Cancer immunotherapy is expected to be one of the pharmaceutical
industry's biggest growth drivers, with analysts at Goldman Sachs
estimating drug sales will reach $25 billion by 2025. Bristol's
Yervoy was the first immunotherapy approved, in 2011.
Opdivo, approved for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration last December for skin cancer and then in March for
lung cancer, contributed sales of $122 million in its second
quarter on the market, up sharply from $40 million in the first
quarter. Analysts expect Opdivo will amass billions of dollars in
yearly sales, as its launch progresses and use broadens in lung and
potentially other cancers.
"We really are entering a period of exciting growth," Bristol
CEO Giovanni Caforio said on an earnings call - his first since
taking Bristol's helm in May.
In the second quarter, revenue at New York-based Bristol
increased to $4.2 billion from $3.9 billion a year earlier.
Excluding currency effects, the growth was 16%.
Overall, Bristol-Myers reported a loss of $130 million, or eight
cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $333 million,
or 20 cents a share.
The latest period included a charge of 48 cents a share related
to Bristol's purchase in April of certain immunotherapy drugs under
development by Flexus Biosciences. Excluding such one-time items,
per-share earnings rose to 53 cents from 48 cents.
The earnings report comes two days after Bristol said it was
stopping early a late-stage trial of Opdivo because the drug
provided superior overall survival in kidney cancer patients,
compared to a rival cancer drug. In another recent study, a
combination of Opdivo and Yervoy delayed the progression of
melanoma longer than either drug alone, results that could support
wider use of both drugs.
In the quarter, Bristol also saw sales gains for the Eliquis
anticlotting drug it sells with Pfizer and for its hepatitis C
franchise. The $479 million in hepatitis C sales was boosted by
recognition of $170 million previously deferred revenue in France
related to an early access program.
But that was a one-time bump, and Chief Financial Officer
Charles Bancroft said franchise sales are expected to be pressured
in Japan. Bristol had once targeted hepatitis C as a major growth
driver, but was outflanked by rivals including Gilead Sciences Inc.
Mr. Caforio said Bristol no longer plans to seek FDA approval for
its all-oral hepatitis C regimen.
In the quarter, sales of older drugs like Abilify and Erbitux
fell. And Opdivo's growth in skin cancer in the U.S. cut into
Yervoy sales, which fell 8% from a year earlier to $296
million.
Also, Bristol said it had ended two phase 3 trials studying
Yervoy in severe forms of prostate cancer and lung cancer, after
the drug failed to prolong the lives of those patients. "We know
not everything we study will be successful," Mr. Caforio said.
As a result of the better-than-expected revenue growth in the
quarter, Bristol raised its per-share earnings estimate by a dime
and now expects $1.70 to $1.80.
Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com and
Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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