Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), faced with patent expiries for its two largest historical revenue-generators, is racing to replace them. The US giant is re-entering the hot-again neuroscience space, as well as bringing forward cardiovascular, immunology, and oncology molecules, with management proclaiming that six of its pipeline assets boast multibillion-dollar potential.
The urgency behind this diversification is clear. The US patent for Revlimid, BMS’s former mega-blockbuster in multiple myeloma, expired in 2022, with generic competition already driving down prices.
BMS is also approaching patent expiry for Eliquis, a blood-thinner co-marketed with Pfizer, with key US protections ending in 2026 and generic entry expected later in the decade. Eliquis has been one of the world’s top ten bestselling drugs almost every year since its launch in 2013.
It can still count on revenues from its cancer drug Opdivo (the tenth bestseller globally in H1 2025), but cannot rely on those alone.
In a presentation at the recent JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco entitled ‘Built for Growth’, BMS CEO Chris Boerner attempted to assuage any doubts about the company’s post-Revlimid/Eliquis era, highlighting six pipeline assets with the potential for blockbuster status (annual sales of over USD one billion).
Like Revlimid and Eliquis before them, these drugs are being positioned as platform assets, with lifecycle strategies spanning multiple indications, lines of therapy, and combinations. The intent is that this will lead to wider patient impact and longer lifecycles.
Additionally, four of the six are oral drugs, making them less burdensome to administer than injectable or infused therapies, as well as globally scalable and typically more margin-efficient, especially outside of the US.
Putting the CNS Back in BMS
Perhaps most significantly, 2026 should see BMS’s re-entry into the neuroscience space. Cobenfy is a new brain-disorder medicine, initially indicated for schizophrenia but with plans to treat Alzheimer’s-related symptoms, bipolar disorder, and autism-related irritability. Across schizophrenia and potential Alzheimer’s-related indications, BMS estimates an addressable population exceeding ten million patients.
Like most big pharmas, BMS scaled back neuroscience in the mid-2010s as failure rates rose and capital shifted to oncology and immunology. However, the major acquisition of Celgene in 2019 reintroduced BMS to CNS development through assets such as ozanimod and organisational capabilities relevant to long-cycle neurological diseases. These capabilities have since been developed through a ‘Neuroscience Thematic Research Center,’ and bolstered with the acquisition of Karuna Therapeutics in late 2023.
What was Karuna’s KarXT asset is now Cobenfy. Speaking to PharmaBoardroom last year, BMS Neuroscience Thematic Research Center Lead Richard Hargreaves explained why the acquisition was so compelling. “The main attraction was KarXT’s potential application in Alzheimer’s-related psychosis, an area where existing treatment options are limited and often burdened by significant side effects,” said Hargreaves, who sees his role as “putting the CNS back into BMS.”
“While our initial trials focus on psychosis, the mechanism of action also offers a rational path toward addressing agitation and cognitive decline, symptoms that are equally disruptive and often the tipping point for families seeking institutional care.”
BMS country managers in the world’s most advanced markets have been laying the groundwork for the company’s re-entry into CNS for some time. “When our CEO first announced BMS’s expansion into neuroscience, he made a powerful comparison: just as BMS transformed patient outcomes in oncology or HIV, imagine if we could do the same for conditions like schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s,” said Switzerland General Manager Jérôme Garcin in late 2024. “These are areas where patients have seen very few new options in decades. It is incredibly exciting to think about the impact innovative treatments could have on the lives of countless patients and their families and friends.”
Spreading the Bets
Three of the pipeline assets highlighted by Boerner at JP Morgan represent lower-risk bets in therapeutic areas where BMS has already established experience. Building on the blood cancer legacy of Revlimid, Iberdomide and Mezigomide are intended for multiple myeloma, particularly in relapsed or refractory disease.
Meanwhile, the firm’s clearest attempt to prepare for life after Eliquis is Milvexian, a new blood thinner pill co-developed and co-commercialised with Johnson & Johnson. Milvexian addresses patient populations that, in aggregate, run into the tens of millions globally, and is designed to preserve antithrombotic efficacy while potentially reducing bleeding risk.
In terms of new frontiers, tackling tough, high-need diseases, Admilparant is a potential treatment for serious lung scarring diseases where patients have few options and short life expectancies.
Additionally, BioNTech-partnered Pumitamig is a next-generation oncology drug that both helps the immune system attack cancer and targets tumour angiogenesis alongside immune checkpoint inhibition. It is designed to work across many tumour types.
As shown in the company’s most recent financial report (for Q3 2025), revenues for its newer medicines were up 18 percent, while legacy product revenue dropped by 13 percent from the previous year. Hoping to maintain this momentum, beyond even the six launches described above – with several expected to deliver pivotal or registrational readouts beginning in 2026 – BMS is hoping to launch over ten new medicines by 2030.
As Boerner concluded, “Taken together, what emerges is a younger and more diversified portfolio that will provide an impressive foundation for sustained growth leading into 2030 and beyond.”
Photo credit: Bristol Myers Squibb
