, Columnist
Here’s Why Bristol-Myers Needs a $74 Billion Shot in the Arm
Sluggish sales of its two best-selling drugs and looming competition help explain the company’s megadeal for Celgene.
Take one megadeal and call me in the morning.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s impending $74 billion acquisition of biotechnology giant Celgene Inc. makes it easy to overlook something as relatively prosaic as the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings results Thursday. They do, however, provide a window into the firm’s deal motivation.
Bristol-Myers’s profit exceeded analysts’ estimates. But sluggish performances from its key medicines, blood-thinner Eliquis and immune-boosting cancer drug Opdivo, make it clear why it is gambling on a risky biotech megadeal.