Key Developments For Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) (NYSE Arca)
Asterand Plc Announces Extension Of Agreement With Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Asterand Plc announced that it has extended its collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., for access to Asterand's products and services for up to three years. The agreement will focus on access to Asterand's PhaseZERO drug discovery services and Asterand's XpressBANK of human tissue and clinical samples for the continued validation of early drug targets and support for compound optimisation. Under the extended collaboration, Asterand will continue to undertake a range of PhaseZERO studies for Bristol-Myers Squibb in the areas of compound profiling and target validation. PhaseZERO studies include gene and protein expression profiling and cell-based pharmacology assays. Likewise, Bristol-Myers Squibb will be granted access to Asterand's XpressBANK of human tissue, bio-fluid, and cell lines and may also utilize Asterand's ProCURE custom clinical sample collection service.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s And Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.'s ABILIFY (aripiprazole)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for ABILIFY (aripiprazole) for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, including symptoms of aggression towards others, deliberate self-injuriousness, temper tantrums, and quickly changing moods.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Announces Split-Off Of Mead Johnson Nutrition CO
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. announced that it will split off its holdings in Mead Johnson Nutrition CO and expects the split-off to be a tax-advantaged way to further deliver value to Bristol-Myers Squibb shareholders. In exchange offer, Bristol-Myers shareholders can exchange some, none or all of their shares of Bristol-Myers common stock for shares of Mead Johnson common stock. The exchange is generally expected to be tax-free to participating shareholders. Bristol-Myers will convert all of its Mead Johnson class B common stock into Mead Johnson class A common stock. Upon completion of exchange offer, only Mead Johnson class A common stock will remain outstanding. The exchange offer is designed to permit Bristol-Myers shareholders to exchange shares of Bristol-Myers common stock for shares of Mead Johnson common stock at a discount. The price of Mead Johnson common stock is to be established by a formula as described below, subject to an upper limit of 0.6027 shares of Mead Johnson common stock per share of Bristol-Myers common stock. For each $1.00 of Bristol-Myers common stock accepted in the exchange offer, the tendering shareholder will receive approximately $1.11 of Mead Johnson common stock, subject to the upper limit on the exchange ratio. Bristol-Myers Squibb will dispose of its entire ownership interest in Mead Johnson through the exchange offer and, if necessary, a subsequent spin-off of any shares it still owns after the exchange offer is completed.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Alder Biopharmaceuticals Enter Global Agreement On Rheumatoid Arthritis Biologic
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a global agreement for the development and commercialization of ALD518, a novel biologic that has completed Phase IIa development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Alder will grant to Bristol-Myers Squibb worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ALD518 for all potential indications except cancer, for which Alder will retain rights and grant Bristol-Myers Squibb an option to co-develop and commercialize outside the United States. An upfront cash payment of $85 million, potential development-based and regulatory-based milestone payments of up to $764 million across a range of indications, potential sales-based milestones which, under certain circumstances, may exceed $200 million, and royalties on net sales are payable to Alder by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Alder has an option to require Bristol-Myers Squibb to make an equity investment of up to $20 million in Alder during an initial public offering. The effectiveness of the collaboration agreement is subject to antitrust clearance by the United States Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, under the provisions of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, and other customary regulatory approvals.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Updates On Patent Infringement Case-DJ
Dow Jones reported that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a generic drug maker's appeal challenging a patent for a blockbuster blood-thinning drug developed by sanofi-aventis and co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The dispute arose after the Canadian generic drug maker Apotex Corp. applied to market a generic version of the anti-blood clotting drug Plavix shortly before its original patent expired in 2003. Sanofi sued Apotex for patent infringement because Sanofi researchers had separated Plavix's two main molecules and successfully applied for a second patent on just the effective molecule in the drug. Apotex argued that the second patent, which does not expire until 2011, should not have been granted. Two years ago the Supreme Court ruled in KSR v. Teleflex that a patent can't be awarded to the results of a procedure that is obvious to try. But both a U.S. judge in New York the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington upheld the patent's validity, ruling that the results of the drug tests could not have been predicted, even if trying the experiment itself were obvious.
