Bristol-Myers Derivative Is Now Worthless as Key Deadline Passes

Investors in a deal sweetener created when Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. acquired Celgene Corp. in 2019 have seen their all-or-nothing bet wiped out because U.S. regulators didn’t approve a drug in time.

The contingent value right, or CVR, depended on a trio of drug candidates getting cleared. In a statement early Friday, Bristol-Myers said the second key deadline -- approval for lymphoma cell therapy liso-cel -- expired on Dec. 31 without a decision from the Food and Drug Administration. The CVR’s final hurdle would have been approval by March 31 for another new therapy called ide-cel.