The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is a leading global biopharmaceutical company with a long and impressive history of innovating and developing medicines that improve the lives of patients around the world. Founded in 1887 when William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers purchased the Clinton Pharmaceutical Company, the company was initially named Bristol, Myers and Company. Its first nationally recognized product, Sal Hepatica, was released in the 1890s.
Bristol Myers-Squibb offers chemically synthesized drugs and biologics administered through injections or infusions to patients. The company's pharmaceutical portfolio includes a large number of well-known products. BMS's primary research and development sites are in New Jersey, California, Spain, Massachusetts, New York, Belgium, Japan, India and Massachusetts. The company's products sell to wholesalers and distributors around the world.
Bristol Myers-Squibb has a robust pipeline of investigational medicines in its pipeline. In addition, the company has established strategic collaborations and partnerships with various companies, successfully launching new products. These partnerships and investments generate portions of the company's revenue.
Bristol Myers-Squibb has acquired several companies over the years, including Medarex in 2009, ZymoGenetics in 2010, Inhibitex Inc. in 2012, Amylin Pharmaceuticals in 2012, iPierian in 2014, Flexus Biosciences in 2015, Cardioxyl in 2015, Padlock Therapeutics in 2016, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals in 2017, IFM Therapeutics in 2017, Celgene in 2019, Otezla in 2019, Forbius in 2020, MyoKardia in 2020 and Turning Point Therapeutics in 2022.
In 2005, the company divested individual consumer products and its subsequent consumer products businesses. In December 2014, the company received FDA approval for its cancer drug, Opdivo, used to treat skin cancers that do not respond to drug therapies. In 2019, the company divested its consumer health business, UPSA, to Taisho.
The company has also faced several scandals, lawsuits and investigations over the years, the biggest of which is the ongoing $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for the company's role in a 1940s experiment that infected hundreds with syphilis. In 2001 BMS faced an accounting scandal that resulted in a restatement of revenues from 1999 to 2001. In 2002, BMS faced a lawsuit based on illegally maintaining a monopoly on Taxol, a chemotherapy medication. The former head of the pharma group and the ex-CFO were indicted for federal securities violations in 2005. In July of 2006, an FBI raid on the company's corporate offices revealed that the company took steps to delay the release of a generic version of one of its drugs.
BMS began a significant restructuring in 2009, focusing on the pharmaceutical business and biologic products, productivity initiatives and cost-cutting. The U.S. attorney forced the company into oversight and appointed a monitor as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. Lou Schmukler joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2010 as global product development and design president.
In 2013, Forbes magazine ranked the company as the drug company of the year. Dr. Giovanni Caforio took the reigns as CEO in 2015. In 2017, reports began to surface that activist investor Carl Icahn took a stake in the company, widely seen as a signal for a potential future takeover.
As Bristol-Myers Squibb continues to experience success and growth, the company is committed to delivering innovative treatments to patients and staying ahead of the curve in the biopharmaceutical industry. With its focus on research and development and a long and rich history of delivering innovative medicines, BMS offers an excellent long-term investment opportunity.
