By Michael Erman
(Reuters) – Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb on Thursday said its first-quarter sales fell from last year, hurt by generic competition for its cancer drug Revlimid.
The drugmaker also announced on Wednesday evening that its Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Caforio plans to step down from the role in November, to be replaced by the company’s current Chief Commercialization Officer Chris Boerner.
“We have a very strong foundation as a company and Giovanni and I are going to continue to work together to deliver on that value,” Boerner said in an interview on Wednesday evening.
Caforio will remain with the company as executive chairman.
First-quarter revenues were $11.34 billion, down from $11.65 billion last year. Analysts, on average, expected sales of $11.49 billion in the quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
Bristol Myers said it earned around $2.05 a share in the quarter, excluding one-time items. Analysts on average had expected the company’s earnings to be $1.97 a share.
CFO David Elkins said that revenue in the quarter grew by 10% if you exclude products like Revlimid that have lost their exclusivity as well as the impact of foreign exchange.
“The underlying businesses is performing very well,” Elkins said.
The company reported sales of $3.42 billion for the blood thinner Eliquis that it shares with Pfizer Inc in the quarter, and $2.2 billion for cancer immunotherapy Opdivo, roughly in line with analyst expectations for both. Sales for those drugs were up 7% and 15%, respectively.
Sales of Revlimid, which began facing generic competition last year, fell to $1.75 billion in the quarter, down 37% from $2.8 billion last year.
The company did not significantly change its full year 2023 forecast.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; editing by Diane Craft)
