Abecma made $406 million in 2024, of which BMS paid $43 million to 2seventy bio as part of their profit-sharing agreement.
Bristol Myers Squibb is stepping in to buy its Abecma partner 2seventy bio for $286 million, ending the biotech’s tumultuous journey as a singular cancer-focused cell therapy company.
2seventy bio entered the market in May 2021, when it was spun out of bluebird bio, taking with it the BMS-partnered CAR-T therapy Abecma. The treatment became the new company’s sole focus. The medicine had been approved just months earlier—in March that year—becoming the industry’s first BCMA-targeted CAR-T treatment for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Abecma is BMS’ second CAR-T therapy, following in the footsteps of the CD19-targeting Breyanzi, approved in February 2021 for large B-cell lymphoma.
Since its initial approval, the partners have successfully pushed Abecma into earlier treatment settings, with the FDA in April 2024 allowing its use in patients who had undergone at least two prior lines of therapy. That same year, BMS reported $406 million in sales for Abecma worldwide, but just $43 million was turned over to 2seventy as part of the profit-sharing arrangement, as per the pharma’s year-end SEC filing.
“The strategic rationale for this acquisition is clear and today’s announcement represents the culmination of the journey for 2seventy bio. We believe that Abecma will continue to benefit from BMS’ experience and resources to ensure this important therapy is delivered to patients who need it,” 2seventy CEO Chip Baird said in a Monday evening statement.
Baird told BioSpace in October 2024 that 2seventy was “tantalizingly close” to reaching cash break even after two tough years marred by layoffs, pipeline reorganizations and regulatory challenges. The company sold off its pipeline to Regeneron in January 2024 for just $5 million upfront, leaving analysts wondering how the remaining company would generate growth.
The buyout comes just weeks after bluebird agreed to go private in a $29 million deal with two private equity firms. The deal was a stunning—if inevitable—end for a company that pioneered gene therapies. Bluebird had been facing a cash crunch with a runway that was ending after the first quarter, despite putting up a fight with the FDA to earn a coveted priority review voucher it could sell.
The decision from BMS reflects executives’ recent pledge to be on the lookout for deals to help strengthen its portfolio, as expressed by CEO Chris Boerner last month during a fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call. In a flash note on Monday evening, analysts at Leerink Partners said that the decision to acquire 2seventy bio would help BMS cut “future profit-sharing costs in Abecma.”
Such a move would be in-line with the pharma’s recent savings push. In April 2024, BMS launched what it called a “strategic productivity initiative,” with the goal of lowering expenditure by $1.5 billion through 2025. The cost-cutting campaign included around 2,200 layoffs last year, alongside a minimization of management layers. BMS last month bumped up the savings target by $2 billion through 2027.
BMS is currently facing loss of exclusivity for three of its top-performing assets, including the cancer therapies Yervoy and Opdivo, key patents for which will expire in 2025 and 2028, respectively. Its best-selling blood thinner Eliquis, which brought in more than $13 billion, will also become open to generic competition in 2026.
The 2seventy deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, will see BMS buy all outstanding shares of the Cambridge biotech for $5 apiece, a purchase price that represents an 88% premium to 2seventy bio’s closing price on Friday.
The completion of the acquisition is contingent on several customary conditions, including antitrust clearances and that a majority of shareholders tender their shares. The Board of Directors of 2seventy bio has unanimously recommended that stockholders back the buyout.
