Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is a multinational biopharmaceutical firm founded in 1887, with its corporate headquarters located in New York City. The company is focused on the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of innovative medicines aimed at addressing serious diseases. BMS operates globally, with facilities in numerous countries, and is particularly recognized for its advancements in chemistry, pharmacy, and biology. Some of its well-known products include Abilify, Plavix, and Eliquis.
Throughout its history, BMS has faced various legal challenges, including issues with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, resulting in substantial penalties. Despite these setbacks, BMS has maintained a strong market presence, ranking as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue. Recent strategic acquisitions, such as Celgene, have bolstered its position in oncology and immunology. As of 2022, BMS reported revenues of $46.4 billion and employed over 20,000 individuals, reflecting its ongoing commitment to delivering healthcare solutions.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Company information
- Date founded: 1887
- Industry: Biopharmaceutical manufacturing, research, and sales.
- Corporate headquarters: New York, New York
- Type: Public
Bristol-Myers Squibb, also known as BMS, is a multinational pharmaceutical and research company with facilities in countries around the world, including Belgium, France, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, among many others. The company's headquarters are located in New York City. BMS lists its mission as "to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases."
BMS is renowned for its innovative research in the fields of chemistry, pharmacy, and biology. Among its most popular drugs are Abilify, Plavix, and Eliquis. BMS has faced some legal and market problems. Despite its historic trajectory and long-standing reputation, the company ran into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the 1980s and 2000s. In addition, BMS has faced legal problems related to two of its most popular diabetes medications, Byetta (exenatide) and Bydureon (exenatide extended-release), as well as Abilify (aripiprazole), an antipsychotic, and Onglyza (saxagliptin), a type 2 diabetes medication. From 2000 to 2022, the company paid over $2.1 billion in penalties for various violations ranging from false claims to price-fixing.
History
Bristol-Myers was founded in 1887 by William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers after investing $5,000 in a drug company named Clinton Pharmaceutical Company. The two soon became president and vice-president of the company. In 1898, the company changed its name to Bristol, Myers Company, a year later becoming the Bristol-Myers Corporation. Meanwhile, Edward Robinson Squibb, a medical doctor, had founded a pharmaceutical company in New York in 1858 with the purpose of producing pure quality medicine. By the 1860s, Squibb was an important purveyor of medicine for the Union Army during the American Civil War.
In 1887, Bristol-Myers began to manufacture and sell a mineral salt laxative called "Sal Hepatica." Dissolved in water and consumed as a liquid, Sal Hepatica was meant to reproduce the effect of natural mineral waters; it was concocted from a mixture of salts, baking soda, sodium phosphate, tartaric acid, and lithium carbonate. It was said to rid the body of wastes and help remedy digestive acidity. By 1903, the product had reached national recognition. In 1911, it was sold as a uric acid solvent for digestive and kidney problems. In 1929, it was also marketed as a remedy for headaches and colds. Sal Hepatica continued being produced until 1958.
Bristol-Myers, like many other companies, faced financial difficulties during the Great Depression. Squibb continued to produce drugs and medicines and supplied the US armed forces during World War II. By 1943, Squibb was the largest manufacturer of penicillin worldwide. During the postwar years, both Squibb and Bristol-Myers continued to grow and increase their research efforts. The companies merged in 1989, becoming BMS, at the time, the second-largest pharmaceutical company in the world.
In 2001, BMS spun off a medical devices division, Zimmer Holdings Inc., which designs and produces joint replacement technologies. In 2012, BMS acquired Amylin Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to the research, development, marketing, and sales of several type 2 diabetes drugs, including Bydureo and Byetta.
BMS suffered a financial blow as the patents of some of its most popular drugs expired, including that of Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate), a blood thinner. In January 2014, the FDA approved Farxiga (dapagliflozin), a type 2 diabetes drug, and BMS sold it soon after to AstraZeneca—along with other diabetes drugs—for $2.7 billion. BMS will continue to receive royalties for these medications until 2025.
In 2015, BMS had to settle SEC charges that, seeking to increase sales, BMS China had enticed healthcare providers with unethical incentives, such as cash, travel, and other gifts. The SEC found that Bristol-Myers Squibb failed to act effectively when faced with red flags indicating sales representatives were bribing health providers. Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to return $11.4 million of revenue plus $500,000 in interest and pay a civil penalty of $2.75 million.
Among the positive results for BMS in 2015, however, was a significant increase in research and development investment, focusing on new cancer therapy. These efforts were rewarded with a massive boost in FDA approvals for Opdivo, created for advanced melanoma. Experts believe that BMS is positioned to gain great influence on the oncology treatments' market.
In 2016, BMS stated that its future plans would focus on research and development of new therapies in alliances with other companies. It is estimated that 40 percent of BMS's research projects are conducted in partnerships with other companies. Despite its promising future in pharmaceuticals, BMS faced legal problems from some of its products in the early twenty-first century. Nevertheless, in 2017, Bristol-Myers Squibb was ranked the ninth-largest US pharmaceutical company by revenue ($20.8 billion) and the sixteenth-largest in the world. It was expected that its solid record stretching over one hundred years would enable it to weather its legal liabilities. In 2022, the company saw a steep decline in profits, but after acquiring Celgene, a cancer and immunology drug company, its sales increase significantly. In 2022, it ranked eighty-second on the Forbes list of pharmaceutical companies and was sixth in total revenue globally, bringing in $46.4 billion, an increase of 12 percent.
Impact
Pharmaceutical companies play a crucial role in healthcare industries worldwide. Much of the research and development of new medications is performed by pharmaceutical companies. However, the cost for research is growing. Critics blame pharmaceutical companies for rising prices and decreasing access to medicine and treatment for the public, especially among the poorest segments of society. Furthermore, pharmaceuticals also have less access to public funds to help support research and development. In addition to these problems, pharmaceutical companies are not immune from facing legal problems.
In 1984, BMS had to respond to charges by the Federal Trade Commission of deceptive advertising practices pertaining to their analgesics, including Anacin, Bayer Aspirin, Excedrin, and Bufferin from 1960 to 1973. In 2001, BMS was accused of inducing wholesale customers to buy more drugs than they needed, to the tune of $2 million, to help the company reach its annual sales goals. Such practices, known as "channel stuffing," provoked the suspicions of the US Justice Department and the SEC. After the investigation, BMS's chief financial officer, Frederick Schiff, was charged with securities fraud, and BMS had to pay $839 million in restitution.
In 2007, BMS paid over $515 million following a wide range of cases pertaining to marketing and pricing issues, such as overpricing, price-setting, and promoting off-label, or unapproved, use of an antipsychotic drug. In 2010, after repeated violations were discovered during inspections performed in 2005 and 2009, the FDA issued a warning to BMS demanding it comply with federal regulations, specifically those pertaining to environmental contamination of facilities and drug products and standards for test procedures and sampling. In 2022, the company employed 20,580 individuals and earned $46.4 billion in revenue.
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