Bristol-Myers CVR Sinks After FDA Rejects Key Cancer Drug Filing

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s announcement that U.S. regulators rejected their filing for its Bluebird Bio Inc.-partnered cancer treatment bb2121 raised cause for concern among investors as a deal sweetener for its purchase of Celgene Corp. sank.

The Refusal to File letter from the Food and Drug Administration deals a blow to an all-or-nothing $9 per share deal payment and casts more doubt on Bristol-Myers’s ability to meet the three requirements for the payout. The contingent value right, or CVR, crashed as much as 43% in early trading Wednesday, the worst drop since it first started trading in November.