Trend Emerges: Bristol-Myers Squibb Joins Big Pharma Colleagues Beating First Quarter Profit Forecasts
Another Big Pharma company announced higher than expected earnings – the latest in a growing trend indicating the industry continues to rake in profits, while facing greater scrutiny for rising prescription drug prices.
Bristol-Myers Squibb reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter of 2019. The company brought in $5.92 billion in revenue – $1.71 billion more than what it earned at the same time last year.
Like many of its Big Pharma colleagues, Bristol-Myers Squibb has been able to boost its profits by hiking prices on its drugs.
A recent report found the company raised prices on two of its best-selling drugs, Coumadin and Sustiva, 163 times from 2015 to 2019.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is also close to acquiring drug manufacturer Celgene in a $74 billion deal. If successful, it would be the largest pharmaceutical industry merger ever. Celgene has come under fire for particularly egregious price-gouging of its drugs, including Revlimid, a medication used to treat multiple myeloma.
Here’s what happened on the day of the merger announcement:
Lack of competition is a key reason why drug prices keep climbing. That’s why CSRxP encourages policymakers in Washington to keep the bipartisan momentum building behind market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable, boost competition and lower prices.
Bristol-Myers Squibb joins drug makers AbbVie, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson in surpassing its first-quarter forecasts. Read more about Novartis and Johnson & Johnson’s earnings HERE.
We’ll be examining more earnings from the world’s top drug manufacturers. Stay tuned for reports from AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Merck and Pfizer.
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