Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an injectible version of Opdivo. This is big news for BMY as Opdivo is its cancer treatment designed for use by itself or alongside chemotherapy. Before this FDA approval, the drug was only available to patients via infusions.
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Bristol-Myers Squibb notes that this version of the cancer drug will be sold as Opdivo Qvantig. It already has all the same approvals as the infusion version and will carry a similar price. BMY is also ready for production with the first shipments expected in early January.
Will This FDA Approval Fend Off Patent Concerns?
The introduction of Opdivo Qvantig is part of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s plan to insulate itself against expiring patents. This will allow it to continue profiting from aging drugs under new treatment options as many of its older patents expire in the coming years. A perfect example of this is the Opdivo patent, which is set to expire this decade.
However, this strategy could cause Bristol-Myers Squibb to run afoul of regulators. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a redoubled effort to target companies’ “improper or inaccurate listing of patents.” One example of a target announced by the FTC is Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) weight-loss drug Ozempic. The regulator takes issue with these attempts to create wide-range patents as they may delay the creation of cheaper generic alternatives.
If Bristol-Myers Squibb attracts the attention of the FTC, its patent expansion plan could be in trouble. That could harm the company’s profits as it wouldn’t allow it to easily fend off competition from generic prescription rivals.
Is BMY Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Bristol-Myers Squibb is Hold based on five Buy, 10 Hold, and one Sell ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $60.69, a high of $70, and a low of $39. This represents a potential 5.22% upside for BMY shares.
