Bristol's Opdivo, Eliquis Lift Results Ahead of Celgene Deal

By Patrick Thomas

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said its first-quarter profit and revenue rose on stronger demand for its key drugs, as the company looks ahead to closing its $74 billion purchase of rival Celgene Corp. later this year.

The pharmaceutical maker posted a profit of $1.71 billion, or $1.04 a share, compared with $1.49 billion, or 91 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings of $1.10 a share.

Bristol's sales rose 14% in the latest period to $5.92 billion, helped by its two largest brands, Opdivo, which is used to treat types of lung cancer, and blood-thinner Eliquis. U.S. sales, which accounts for the bulk of Bristol's business, rose 24% to $3.4 billion.

Research and development expenses rose 8% to $1.4 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $1.09 a share on an adjusted basis on $5.75 billion in revenue.

Bristol shareholders approved the company's acquisition of Celgene earlier this month, fending off an unsuccessful activist campaign to break up the deal.

Shareholders were cool on the deal when it was struck in January, and the company's stock is trading lower than year-ago levels. Through Wednesday's close, shares are down about 14% this year compared with the S&P 500's gain of about 17%.

On Thursday Bristol Myers raised its profit outlook for the year to between $3.84 and $3.94 a share from $3.75 to $3.85 a share. The raised guidance doesn't factor in the Celgene deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, Bristol said.

New York-based Bristol pioneered the development of cancer drugs known as immunotherapies, which unleash the body's immune system on tumors. Summit, N.J.,-based Celgene leads in the sale of treatments for multiple myeloma. The combined company will have nearly $38 billion in annual sales and command a leading position in the $123 billion world-wide market for cancer drugs.

"We are focused on our integration planning with Celgene and creating a leading biopharma company," Bristol's chief executive, Dr. Giovanni Caforio, said in prepared remarks.

Bristol also said Thursday that a phase 2 study testing a cocktail of its Opdivo and Yervoy medicines in patients with a type of skin cancer around the head and neck failed to meet primary endpoints.

Bristol has been studying how Opdivo could potentially be used across several tumor types and disease areas. The Opdivo and Yervoy combination has already gained approval in certain markets to treat melanoma and other types of cancer.

Jared Hopkins contributed to this article.

Write to Patrick Thomas at Patrick.Thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 25, 2019 07:15 ET (11:15 GMT)

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