With The Launch Of Yervoy, Early Signs Of R&D Success For Bristol

Four years ago, Bristol management changed course and established the company as a pure play biopharma. Now, with the launch of Yervoy for metastatic melanoma and a late-stage pipeline that is chock-full, the strategy appears about to pay off. CEO Lamberto Andreotti and R&D president Elliott Sigal talked with IN VIVO about the launch of Yervoy and how Bristol, relying on R&D productivity, not diversification, is on track to overcome the extensive patent losses ahead.

By Jessica Merrill

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. stands poised over one of the steepest patent cliffs in the industry with the loss of Plavix (clopidogrel) approaching in May 2012. Unlike some of its peers, which have relied on mega-mergers and diversification to soften significant patent losses, Bristol has taken a different path to prepare for the loss of its best seller. In a stated strategic shift in December 2007, the company began selling non-core businesses, slashing overhead and cutting some 11,000 jobs, all while refueling the pipeline mainly through in-licensing and acquisitions

More from Business Strategy

More from In Vivo