Bristol Myers Squibb Co. has announced that it will buy MyoKardia Inc. for USD 13.1 billion in cash in a deal. The move by the drug giant is aimed at expanding its offering of heart therapies. It will also reduce Bristol Myers’ dependency on cancer drugs. The deal comes after the largest pharmaceutical deal in history that the company clinched last year. According to a statement issued by the company, It will pay USD 225 a share for MyoKardia. With this deal, Bristol Myers will get access to MyoKardia lead product mavacamten. It is an experimental drug to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In this disease, the muscle of the heart becomes abnormally thick.
Expanding the lineup to heart drugs would help Bristol Myers maintain a more diversified lineup of therapies. The company has so far emphasized the expansion of its oncology business of late. Eliquis, a blood thinner, has been the company’s top-seller, however, it is expected to face tough competition in the coming years. Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Caforio said that they have been trying to find different ways to strengthen the company. “This is a disease that has no treatment available at the moment and therefore the value is very significant. The deal can really be a multi-billion dollar asset,” he added.
Nearly a year ago, Bristol Myers closed a USD 74 billion deal with Celgene Corp. This placed the company in a better position in the increasingly competitive market for cancer therapies. But investors are concerned about the prospect of the company in the next half of the decade. Revlimid was the main drug that was obtained in the deal. It is expected to drop US patent exclusivity in 2027. Similarly, Eliquis is also expected to lose patent exclusivity in 2026. It is expected that an application for the approval of mavacamten will be submitted in the first quarter of the year 2021. The company’s executives said that this is too early to discuss such things.
