RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Big pharma is set to keep signing bigger deals in 2024April 30, 2024 - Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is the latest large pharma to wield the restructuring ax, with plans to cut $1.5 billion in costs by the end of 2025, including laying off more than 2,000 employees.
Over the last six months, BMS has been aggressive on the M&A front, spending $14 billion on Karuna Therapeutics and $4.1 billion on radiopharma biotech RayzeBio.
On April 25, 2024 Bristol-Myers Squibb’s market capitalization has dropped so much over the past year that it is now arguably no longer part of the big pharma club.
After reporting disappointing earnings figures on Thursday, the company’s shares fell sharply, giving it a market capitalization of about $95 billion. That makes it smaller than biotechs like Regeneron and Vertex, both of which are worth around $100 billion. Merck is worth about $330 billion, while similarly struggling Pfizer still is worth around $150 billion.
The problem for Bristol-Myers is that its older blockbuster products, cancer drug Revlimid and blood thinner Eliquis, are expected to decline in the coming years and investors aren’t convinced that the company has enough growth drivers in the near term.
BMS jobs cuts announcement comes after a federal judge in New Jersey on Monday ruled that the drug price negotiations outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act is constitutional, rejecting the arguments put forth by J&J and BMS. This is the latest decision dismissing the unconstitutional claims of certain Big Pharma companies.