BMS Q2 Revenue Surpasses $10 Billion Amid Revlimid Strength, While Opdivo Lags Behind Keytruda

A year after Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired Celgene for a hefty $74 billion, Celgene’s multiple myeloma treatment Revlimid (brand name: Revlimid) has become BMS’s flagship product. Amid intense competition, Revlimid continues to drive revenue for Bristol-Myers Squibb, accounting for 28% of its first-half sales.

On August 6, Bristol-Myers Squibb releasedQ2 ReportandSemi-Annual Report。The report shows that Bristol-Myers Squibb's revenue in the second quarter of 2020 was $10.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 61%; global revenue for the first half of the year was $20.91 billion, a year-on-year increase of 71%. The significant growth in revenue was primarily due to the acquisition of Celgene.

Heavy Investment in "Blood Replenishment": Celgene Brings Revenue Growth Driver

In 2019, prior to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Celgene, both companies were already facing challenges. Due to clinical setbacks and other missteps, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s stock price fell by 15.2% in 2018, while Celgene’s dropped by nearly 40%. According to foreign media reports, the two companies had stated that the merger would yield $2.5 billion in cost savings and significantly boost profitability. However, at the time, some Wall Street analysts questioned whether the merger could resolve these issues.

In 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb completed its acquisition of Celgene, setting a record for the largest merger and acquisition in pharmaceutical history. Celgene also brought Revlimid, BMS’s flagship sales product, to the table. As one of the focal points of the acquisition, there was speculation that Bristol-Myers Squibb would rely on the drug’s continued growth to support the revenue of the merged company.

As previously reported by the media, Revlimid is Celgene’s flagship product, possessing anti-angiogenic and antitumor properties. In 2018, the drug achieved sales of $9.685 billion, accounting for 63.4% of Celgene’s annual revenue.Evaluate Pharma previously predicted that by 2024, Revlimid would become the seventh best-selling drug globally, with sales reaching $8.057 billion. It is reported that some patents for Revlimid will not expire until 2027, and the drug’s market share will remain unshaken before 2022.

And judging from the performance in the first half of 2020,Revlimid Indeed Outperforms Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Anticoagulant Eliquis and the World’s First PD-1 Immunotherapy Drug OpdivoOpdivo”. The semi-annual report showed that in the first half of 2020, Revlimid achieved sales of $5.799 billion, accounting for 28% of total revenue, while the anticoagulant Eliquis and Opdivo ranked second and third, respectively.The anticoagulant Eliquis generated $4.804 billion in revenue in the first half of the year, a 21% year-over-year increase. In contrast, Opdivo achieved $3.419 billion in revenue, falling short of the same period last year with a 6% year-over-year decline.

In addition, other drugs acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb through its acquisition of Celgene also drove its revenue:

Pomalyst, a drug for multiple myeloma, generated $1.458 billion in revenue, representing a 25% year-over-year increase;

Abraxane, an anticancer drug, generated $608 million in revenue, a 2% year-over-year increase;

Inrebic, a drug for myelofibrosis, and Reblozyl, a drug for treating anemia, generated revenues of $27 million and $63 million, respectively.

Notably, both Inrebic and Reblozyl received FDA approval for market launch last year. Inrebic is the first drug for myelofibrosis since 2011, offering patients a novel once-daily oral treatment option. Reblozyl is the first FDA-approved therapy for anemia associated with beta-thalassemia, as well as the first and only erythroid maturation agent approved by the FDA. Previously, analysts at Jefferies, a prominent Wall Street investment bank, predicted that Reblozyl’s annual peak sales would reach $2 billion.

PK “Keytruda”: How is BMS’s “Opdivo” Doing?

In contrast, among Bristol-Myers Squibb’s own core products and its many blockbuster anticancer drugs, special mention must be made of Opdivo, which once claimed the title of the world’s first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor.After its approval and market launch in 2014, the prominence of Opdivo lasted only until 2018. 

At that time, Merck & Co.’s PD-1 antibody Keytruda (K drug) surpassed Opdivo’s (O drug) $1.63 billion in sales (a 36% year-over-year increase) with $1.67 billion in revenue (an 89% year-over-year increase), officially completing the overtaking maneuver.Since 2018, the sales growth of Opdivo has been sluggish.

In the first half of 2019, Opdivo generated sales of $3.624 billion, a 15% increase, lagging behind Keytruda in both revenue and growth. By the first quarter of 2020, Opdivo’s revenue had fallen to $1.8 billion, a 2% year-over-year decline. For the entire first half of 2020, Opdivo’s sales totaled $3.419 billion, down 6% year over year, once again trailing Keytruda. According to Merck’s 2020 semiannual report, Keytruda’s revenue reached $6.672 billion, surging 36%.

Currently, the R&D landscape for PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies has become crowded. Amidst intense competition, Bristol-Myers Squibb is also seeking to develop new indications to drive sales of Opdivo.Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced that Opdivo has been officially approved by the NMPA for patients with advanced or recurrent gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, making Opdivo the only PD-1 inhibitor to date whose survival benefit for Chinese patients with advanced gastric cancer has been confirmed in Phase III clinical trials. This may allow it to regain momentum in the second half of 2020. Currently, the indications approved for Opdivo in China cover lung cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and gastric cancer.

In the field of hematology, Bristol-Myers Squibb is conducting four clinical trials at various stages, covering a range of serious conditions including low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, thalassemia, and acute myeloid leukemia. In immunology, Bristol-Myers Squibb has eight clinical trials underway at different stages, addressing multiple diseases such as Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, and lupus nephritis.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s clinical trial programs were affected in February and March. As the epidemic situation has improved, operations have gradually returned to normal.The semi-annual report indicates that all clinical trial activities, including product sales, are expected to resume by the end of the year.

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