Giovanni Caforio

A Letter from Giovanni Caforio

The first year of our new company was truly a remarkable time in BMS history. I am proud of the significant accomplishments we made in the face of great adversity and change during the COVID-19 pandemic. We created a leading biopharma company, a diversified company with leading medicines across oncology, hematology, immunology and cardiovascular. One with a broad and deep pipeline, and the financial flexibility to continue to invest in innovation. And one where the best people in the industry are committed to our mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines to patients who need them.

We worked hard to deliver on our mission by maintaining an uninterrupted supply of medicines to patients, launching new products and continuing to conduct clinical trials where possible, while navigating the challenges of a worldwide pandemic. We did not lose sight of the patients still waiting for answers, as we added new potential medicines to our portfolio and drove scientific discoveries to fuel the renewal of our portfolio well into the future.

And we did all of this while building our new company and shaping a new culture based on our shared values and focus on patients. After an unprecedented year of progress amid challenges, we have built the company we set out to create. And yet there is more to do for patients who are waiting.

2020 Full-Year Revenues

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*Includes revenues for products acquired as part of the Celgene acquisition from November 20, 2019, which was the date of the closing of the acquisition, through December 31, 2019 (excludes foreign currency revenue hedge gains and losses). **Includes revenues for products acquired as part of the Celgene acquisition for the current- and prior-year periods (excludes foreign currency revenue hedge gains and losses). See “Worldwide Pro Forma Revenue” in Quarterly Package of Financial Information for full year of 2020, which is available on bms.com/investors/financial-reporting/quarterly-results, for information on the revenue of the company and Celgene on a stand-alone basis for the prior-year period.

Patients Are Our North Star

In 2020, our single vision–to transform patients’ lives through science–guided our teams around the world as we delivered our medicines to patients. Our belief in the power of science to address the most challenging diseases of our time pushed us to strive for innovative solutions.

We brought innovative treatment options to patients with the launch of new therapies–including Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt), Onureg (azacitidine) and Zeposia (ozanimod). We added five new indications to our immuno-oncology portfolio, including four for our dual immunotherapy treatment, Opdivo (nivolumab) plus Yervoy (ipilimumab). Opdivo-based treatments are helping improve outcomes as first-line treatment for lung cancer patients and showing promise in the adjuvant treatment setting, providing new and earlier treatment options to cancer patients.

We continued to advance our late-stage pipeline with positive top-line results in eight pivotal trials on potential new therapies–truly remarkable progress.

One such therapy is deucravacitinib, an oral selective tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, being studied across multiple immune-mediated diseases. Pioneered by our own scientists, deucravacitinib demonstrates the innovative approach our scientists take to meeting unmet medical needs. We were very pleased to receive positive Phase 3 study results for deucravacitinib as a potential new treatment option for people living with psoriasis. We continue to investigate additional indications and welcomed results of a second Phase 3 trial in psoriasis this year.

In 2020, our hematology franchise continued to grow with the launch of Reblozyl and Onureg. We made great progress in advancing our work in cell therapy, which allows us to potentially redefine the future of personalized medicine, with an advanced cell therapy program and a growing early-stage pipeline that expands across cell and gene therapy targets and technologies.

In February of 2021, Breyanzi (liso-cel) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our ide-cel application progressed towards potential approval in the U.S. and E.U. Each are differentiated therapies for hard-to-treat blood diseases.

We strengthened our cardiovascular (CV) franchise with the acquisition of MyoKardia, a specialized late-stage CV company. Through MyoKardia, we gained mavacamten, a potential first-in-class therapy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a chronic heart disease with high morbidity and patient impact. Mavacamten continues a long legacy of cardiovascular leadership at BMS, following Eliquis, our novel oral anticoagulant that delivered strong performance in 2020, bringing significant benefit to even more patients.

Despite challenges from a global pandemic, our passionate manufacturing and supply teams applied innovative thinking across the globe to meet the needs of patients. They secured our supply chain, organized alternative transportation routes and were able to deliver a continuous supply of medicines. The teams displayed great urgency to ensure launches were executed on time and further strengthened capabilities needed to support the manufacturing of cell therapies.

Ensuring access to our products is essential. In 2020, we continued to work with governments and policymakers to advance policies that support and reward investments in the discovery and development of life-saving medicines, while thoughtfully approaching the pricing of our medicines to ensure patient access. In the U.S., we expanded our existing patient support programs to help eligible individuals who lost their jobs and health insurance during the pandemic by offering access to our medicines for free.

Continued strong execution provides foundation for the future.

“I am proud of the significant achievements of last year and the strong foundation we created for near- and long-term growth.”

The Business of Breakthroughs

Our focus on unmet needs in cancer, blood diseases, autoimmune and heart diseases comes during a remarkable time when unprecedented scientific discoveries are advancing new treatments as never before in human history.

We are advancing our rich mid- to late-stage pipeline across therapeutic areas including assets like Factor XIa inhibitor for thrombosis, cendakimab for eosinophilic esophagitis and CELMoDs for multiple myeloma.

Our Research & Early Development teams are building a robust early pipeline across multiple platforms with more than 50 early-stage assets. We expect more than 20 experimental assets to progress through proof of concept in the next three years.

At the same time, we continue to build a broad network of biopharma partners to source external innovation. Last year, this included exciting collaborations with DragonFly, insitro, Repare and many more.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

2020 was like no other year. With COVID-19 quickly affecting the world, we focused on ensuring the safety and well-being of our workforce, ensuring the continued supply of medicines to our patients and driving relief efforts across the globe. We expanded our existing patient support programs to help eligible patients in the U.S. who lost their health insurance due to the pandemic.

Our COVID-19 response and recovery efforts are based on our key priorities to maintain the supply of medicines to patients, protect the health and safety of our workforce, advance our pipeline and assist relief efforts across the globe. Our teams worked with urgency to take all necessary actions to promote public health and continued to carry out our mission of providing life-saving medicines to the patients who depend on us.

Living Our Values

The pivot to remote working for the majority of our workforce was enabled by our supportive culture built on our core values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity. We benefit from the diversity of our colleagues and strive to foster an environment that is equitable and inclusive. At our core is the belief that the priceless ingredient of every product is the integrity of its maker.

The global pandemic and social unrest of 2020 have brought us to a critical inflection point–and businesses who act with purpose will have impact beyond this moment and create lasting change. As the events of 2020 unfolded, our company and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation took bold steps to accelerate and expand health equity and diversity and inclusion efforts.

The commitments are aimed at accelerating clinical trial diversity, improving disease awareness in underserved communities, investing in diverse communities and increasing the diversity of the company’s workforce.

We then went one step further in December, announcing strengthened environmental sustainability goals through 2040 that build upon those initial commitments. The company has committed to purchase 100 percent of the electricity it uses from renewable sources by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2040 with targets of equitable water use, zero waste to landfill and 100 percent electric vehicles in our fleet.

Positioned for the Future

Our accomplishments in 2020 reflect our continued progress towards our vision of transforming patients’ lives through science. With strong development and commercial capabilities and a deep and broad pipeline, we are well positioned for growth and the renewal of our portfolio through the end of the decade.

We have the most talented people in the industry who show up for work every day dedicated to our mission of discovering, developing and delivering innovative medicines to help patients prevail over serious diseases. I am proud of how our teams have collaborated during the pandemic in a virtual environment, building a sense of belonging and connection. We stand ready to bring our workforce back together–at the appropriate time and with the appropriate precautions.

The BMS community feels great pride and celebrates each time we see a patient benefit from one of our medicines. But we know how many patients are still waiting for options–this is what motivates us and keeps us focused on the search for the next innovation.

Thank you.

Giovanni Signature

Giovanni Caforio, M.D.
Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer
March 10, 2021

*Figures include, among others, recent indications approved for Opdivo in the U.S. for adjuvant melanoma, metastatic colorectal cancer, and second-line liver and bladder cancers; in Japan for second-line head & neck cancer and gastric cancer; and in Europe for second-line bladder and head & neck cancer.