Bristol Myers looks to new CEO as competition from generic drugs heats up

9:10 am Thursday, April 27th, 2023

By Michael Erman

(Reuters) -Bristol Myers Squibb said on Wednesday evening its CEO Giovanni Caforio would step down in November and will be replaced by current Chief Commercialization Officer Chris Boerner, as the drugmaker contends with increasing generic competition for its top-selling drugs.

The company also said on Thursday its first-quarter sales fell, pressured by declining demand for cancer drug Revlimid, which faces competition from cheaper generic rivals.   Bristol Myers is also expected to face revenue losses for two of its other top sellers, cancer immunotherapy Opdivo and blood thinner Eliquis, as they lose patent exclusivity later this decade.      The shift to CCO Boerner signals that Bristol will be focusing on the execution of launch of new products, as the company looks to spur growth in the face of upcoming patent losses, BMO analyst Evan Seigerman said in a note.     “With shares trading at a discount to peers, we could see multiple expansion with new launches” like heart disease drug Camzyos and psoriasis drug Sotyktu, Seigerman added. 

Boerner, who has been CCO since 2018, was named chief operating officer until he takes the top job. He joined the company in 2015 and previously served in leadership roles at Seattle Genetics Inc and Roche’s Genentech.    “We have a very strong foundation as a company and Giovanni and I are going to continue to work together to deliver on that value,” Boerner said in an interview on Wednesday evening.    Caforio will remain with the company as executive chairman.    Bristol Myers said on Thursday its revenues in the quarter were $11.34 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $11.49 billion, according to Refinitiv data.    CFO David Elkins said that revenue in the quarter grew by 10% if you exclude products like Revlimid that have lost their exclusivity as well as the impact of foreign exchange.     Sales of Revlimid, which began facing generic competition last year, fell to $1.75 billion in the quarter, down 37% from $2.8 billion last year.

Shares of the company were down more than 2% in premarket trade.     The company did not significantly change its full year 2023 forecast.

(Reporting by Michael Erman, additional reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)