Bristol Myers Squibb clocked $10 million in sales for new schizophrenia drug Cobenfy in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the launch proceeding ahead of expectations.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s new schizophrenia medicine Cobenfy recorded its first sales, collecting $10 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 from about 1,000 weekly prescriptions.
Cobenfy, a muscarinic agonist, was granted FDA approval in September to treat schizophrenia in adults, representing the first new option for the psychiatric disorder in 35 years.
“This is the first new mechanism of action in decades in the treatment of schizophrenia, and so we’re out with our team educating customers on Cobenfy’s differentiated profile, and we’re breaking reflexive prescribing habits, and that’s going to take some time,” Chief Commercial Officer Adam Lenkowsky said on BMS’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday.
But still, the “launch is really off to a strong start,” Lenkowsky said, adding that Medicaid and Medicare uptake is ahead of expectations, with 90% and 80% access, respectively. There has also been good progress with commercial payers.
Progress is expected to continue through 2025, with a steeper ramp up in the latter half of the year.
“Taken together, we are really pleased [with] what we’re seeing so far, and we plan to make this a very big product for the company over time,” Lenkowsky said.
BMS is hearing “a lot of enthusiasm on the efficacy and the safety profile” as the drug is prescribed, according to Lenkowsky. Patients are reporting improvements in positive symptoms of the disorder—those relating to psychosis—as quickly as the first week of starting Cobenfy, he said. Lenkowsky added that there are also early reports of improvement in negative symptoms (clarity of thought and cognition) as patients reengage with their families and consider returning to work. Adverse events have been manageable, with physicians starting patients on low doses of about 50 mg.
BMS is also planning to start seven Phase III trials this year in an effort to expand Cobenfy’s label, including in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease agitation. Chief Medical Officer Samit Hirawat said on the earnings call that the drug could really be tested in any condition that features dementia or agitation because of its dual muscarinic agonism.
That dual mechanism of action has been key, as rival AbbVie—which bought similar neuropsychiatry biotech Cerevel around the same time BMS acquired Karuna—has seen its singular pathway drug emraclidine fail in schizophrenia. While AbbVie regroups, BMS is charging forward and redefining the schizophrenia market.
Executives declined to bite when asked whether AbbVie’s failure has BMS rethinking its strategy. Lenkowsky said the company hadn’t been expecting company on the market until at least 2026 or 2027 anyway. BMS CEO Boerner expects Cobenfy to accelerate the company’s growth into the second half of the decade when key products like Eliquis and Opdivo are expected to lose exclusivity.
“[With] the failure of emraclidine, we have a clear path forward in schizophrenia . . . and we believe that we’re going to drive meaningful growth for Cobenfy, really into the middle of the next decade,” Lenkowsky said.
