Amid the sturm und drang over Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) drug price negotiations, Bristol Myers Squibb has been among the biopharma companies casting the most woe over the oncoming measures. Earlier this month, in a federal court appeal, BMS called the plan a “convoluted regime” and warned of a “top-down government takeover of the pharmaceutical industry.”
However, Friday, during a quarterly conference call, when asked about BMS’ negotiations with Medicare over its blood thinner Eliquis, CEO Chris Boerner sounded nothing like a leader facing the apocalypse.
“Now that we’ve seen the final price, we’re increasingly confident in our ability to navigate the impact of IRA on Eliquis,” Boerner said.
The navigation will begin in 2026 when new government-negotiated prices kick in for a select group of megablockbuster products. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was to reveal new prices Sept. 1, but Boerner indicated negotiations are basically finalized and that the company expects it to be published in the “coming weeks and certainly before Sept. 1.”
Boerner said BMS will provide more details after the price is published.
Boerner’s comment sounds very similar to those from his large pharma peers: that at least the initial IRA-mandated prices are not that threatening to the companies’ businesses.
During Novartis’ second-quarter call last week, CEO Vas Narasimhan said IRA “might be manageable” in the short term because the first drugs to be included are nearing their patent cliffs anyway. Novartis’ blockbuster heart failure combo Entresto is one of the 10 drugs currently undergoing Medicare price talks.
Johnson & Johnson’s innovative medicine head, Jennifer Taubert, during a conference call last week, noted the company still expects to grow sales by an average of 5% to 7% between 2025 and 2030 despite having three drugs—Imbruvica, Stelara and Xarelto—up for mandatory price adjustments in 2026.
Execs from AstraZeneca, whose SGLT2 inhibitor Farxiga is exposed to initial IRA price cut, have called Medicare’s price offer “relatively encouraging,” and said that its impact “very limited.”
As for the potential of a policy change hinging on the result of the November elections, Boerner said that it’s difficult to speculate “not just because it’s a presidential election but it’s also the composition of Congress.”
If the policy remains unchanged BMS will remain a staunch opponent.
“We continue to believe that arbitrary price-setting by the government on live-saving medicines is not good public policy,” Boerner added. “So irrespective of short-term dynamics we remain very concerned about the long-term implications of IRA on innovation.”
Aside from the positive tone on Eliquis, BMS had a stellar second quarter, generating $12.2 billion in revenue, which was a 9% increase year over year and topped the analyst consensus of $11.5 billion. By mid-morning the company’s share price had increased by 8%.
As a result, BMS had adjusted its annual revenue projection from a low-single-digit increase to the upper end of the low-single-digit range. The company also bumped up its projected earnings per share by $0.20 on either end to a window of between $0.60 and $0.90.
BMS’ portfolio of new products contributed heavily to the revenue beat. Anemia drug Reblozyl was up 82% to $425 million, while blood cancer CAR-T Breyanzi increased sales by 55% to $153 million, fueled by recent label expansions.
Two BMS drugs that were approved in 2022—and each tabbed with peak sales potential of $4 billion—are off to promising launches. Cancer combo Opdualag was up 53% to $235 million, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treatment Camzyos reached sales of $139 million.
“Bristol’s growth portfolio continues to perform exceptionally well,” said Third Bridge analyst Lee Brown, who noted an 18% increase in sales of the portfolio overall, accounting for $5.6 billion in revenue.
One of the few underperformers among BMS’ new products is plaque psoriasis drug Sotyktu, which generated $53 million, which is up from $44 million in the previous quarter. Company execs blamed access issues.
Eliquis remained BMS’ top seller at $3.4 billion, which was a 7% increase year over year. Cancer drug Opdivo, which is due to lose patent protection in 2028, saw a 16% bump to $2.4 billion. Revlimid, which has already lost its exclusivity, held up well with a sales drop of just 7% to $1.35 billion.
“The beat in the quarter was again driven primarily by Revlimid, which has shown variability in its gradual generic decline,” Matt Phipps, Ph.D., of William Blair wrote in a note to investors.