In Merger Plot Twist, BMS Needs A Buyer For Celgene's Otezla, Raising New Questions

 
• By Jessica Merrill
  
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Bristol-Myers will have to divest Celgene's blockbuster psoriasis pill to address concerns raised by the US FTC related to the merger. The news raised questions about whether FTC is giving more scrutiny to pipeline overlap.

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A new chapter unfolds in the Bristol/Celgene merger • Source: Shutterstock

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is seeking a buyer for Celgene Corp.'s blockbuster psoriasis pill Otezla (apremilast) to address concerns by the US Federal Trade Commission around the planned merger related to competition in psoriasis. The news surprised some investors given that BMS and Celgene don't currently have a significant amount of overlap in the immunology space, and while Otezla was not a main driver of the merger, it is still a significant revenue-generating growth driver.

Otezla is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and generated $1.61bn in 2018, on year-over-year...

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