Despite a dip in sales and a recent schizophrenia stumble, the company drew an optimistic outlook for sales for the rest of the year, even as the specter of pharmaceutical tariffs looms.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s first quarter sales declined 6% to $11.2 billion as generics and the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Part D redesign took a bite out of profits, CEO Chris Boerner said Thursday.
Nevertheless, BMS pointed to its growth portfolio, a group of 13 drugs including newer headline molecules like Opdivo and Cobenfy, where sales increased 16% year-over-year from $4.8 billion to $5.6 billion. Cobenfy, the freshly approved schizophrenia drug, pulled in $27 million in sales for its first full quarter, according to the company’s first quarter earnings report.
Analysts noted the generic decline but were confident the growth products can make up the gap being left behind in the legacy portfolio, which includes Revlimid and Pomalyst.
“Growth from new products in cancer, autoimmune disease and cardiomyopathy should offset sales declines from patent expirations,” Edward Jones wrote in a note to investors Thursday morning. The company also saw the fruits of its massive cost savings program; operating expenses declined $500 million from last year amid a spree of maneuvers that aimed at saving $1.5 billion overall while potentially cutting thousands of jobs.
Other analysts seemed pleased but cautious. “1Q25 shows good enough growth, coming in ahead on the top and bottom line with some mixed performance from the growth business,” BMO Capital Markets wrote.
Showing optimism, BMS has adjusted sales guidance for 2025, up from $45.5 billion to $45.8–$46.8 billion.
BMS executive did not address at length the recent failure of schizophrenia drug Cobenfy, despite analysts expecting to hear additional details on the call. On Wednesday, BMS released data from its Phase III ARISE trial, which showed that Cobenfy didn’t improve schizophrenia symptoms when used alongside atypical antipsychotics. On the heels of that failure, Leerink Partners adjusted projected long-term sales for the drug down 55%, from $5.8 billion to $2.6 billion.
In the question-and-answer session, CMO Samit Hirawat demurred on the issue. “We need to do all of the work to understand all of the data including the additional endpoints we have not yet looked at,” Hirawat said. “Then we’ll engage with regulators on what next steps would be.”
Still, BMS executives were encouraged by Cobenfy’s launch. The drug was approved in September 2024 as the first new schizophrenia drug in 35 years. The $27 million in sales were above William Blair’s estimate of $15 million, while the consensus estimate is $17.2 million.
Like its peers, BMS also faced questions on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but the executive team remained nonplussed. “We appreciate the administration’s efforts,” said CEO Chris Boerner. “We are a significantly U.S. based company today. We’ve got a lot to wait and see on the impact on pharma sectors of tariffs. We already have a significant presence in the U.S. and have taken efforts to reduce disruptions to the supply chain.”
BMS plans to engage with the administration on tariffs and on the cost of healthcare in the U.S. Boerner stated that a majority of healthcare spending in the U.S. goes to “middlemen,” echoing a line from industry groups about pharmacy benefit managers driving up drug pricing.
He referred positively to the administration’s exploration of “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing, which would peg what U.S. consumers pay for medicines to the lowest cost paid by a comparable nation.
“We agree with the administration on Most Favored Nations statuses; we need other countries to contribute more. We need to address the complexity of the US healthcare system.”
