Bristol Myers Sues Amgen to Block Opdivo Biosimilar, Defending $5.9B Franchise
BMY sits 50% above its 52-week low of $42.52 on light trading volume (0.3× avg).
Summary
Bristol Myers Squibb and partner Ono Pharmaceutical filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Amgen in Delaware federal court, seeking to block Amgen's proposed U.S. biosimilar of Opdivo. The suit alleges infringement of seven patents covering the blockbuster cancer immunotherapy, which generated over $5.9 billion in U.S. revenue last year. Bristol Myers expects patent exclusivity on Opdivo until 2028, and this litigation is a direct effort to protect that revenue stream from biosimilar competition. The case follows a 2017 settlement with Merck over Keytruda, where Bristol Myers received $625 million plus royalties, indicating a history of defending Opdivo's IP. For Amgen, the lawsuit represents a hurdle to launching its biosimilar, but the company has not yet commented. The outcome will hinge on the strength of Bristol Myers' patents and the court's willingness to grant an injunction, with potential for a settlement similar to the Merck deal.
At the time of this announcement, BMY was trading at $63.75 on NYSE in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $130.2B. The 52-week trading range was $42.52 to $68.64. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Reuters.