Company Overview

Company Overview Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is a world-wide Bio-Pharmaceutical company which focuses on “discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines that helps patients prevail over serious diseases” (BMS 1). In 1887, John Ripley Myers and William McLaren Bristol bought a near-bankrupt pharmaceuticals company centered in Clinton, New Jersey. Today, the company as a whole focuses primarily on developing medicines to fight cancer, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes, but the beginnings years of the company had an extremely different outlook. It took nearly fifteen years before the company started turning a profit, but ever since the turn of the century in 1900, BMS has been able to stay in the black. The company’s first two successful products was the first toothpaste to include a disinfectant called Ipana, and a laxative mineral salt called Sal Hepatica. By 1924, the company had gone international and profited a million dollars for the first time. Bristol Myers Squibb was also able to issue stock for the first time in 1929, as it was traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, the company was able to expand into the baby formula and antibiotics market, as well as creating the first electronic toothbrush. In 2001, the company was voted the “Most Admired Pharmaceutical Company” by Fortune Magazine, and today the company has continued its progression into the fields of oncology and antibiotics. Bristol Myers Squibb continues to set high standards for itself and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, as they have announced several partnerships to develop breakthrough treatments for diabetes, heart disease, HIV, Alzheimer’s, and many different fields within oncology. To date, Bristol Myers Squibb has several consumer health products sold over the counter, as well as numerous prescription medications. Some of their most popular medications include Baraclude, a prominent Hepatitis medication, Emsam¸ which fights depression, Videx, to fight HIV Infection, and Orencia, which is used to fights Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis. Also, they produce and market Abilify and Plavix. These two medications help to treat psychological disorders and anti-coagulation of the blood, respectively. The organizational structure is that of a traditional American corporation. Lamberto Andreotti is the Chief Executive Office, who is accompanied by: Brian Daniels, the Vice-President of Global Development and Medical Affairs, Charles Bancroft, the Chief Financial Officer, Sandra Leung, the Vice-President of General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Giovanni Caforio, the President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals, Lou Schmukler, the President of Global Manufacturing and Supply, Beatrice Cazala, the Vice-President of Commercial Operations, Elliot Sigal, the Chief Scientific Officer, John Celentano, the Vice-President of Human Resources, Paul von Autenried, the Chief Information Officer, and finally Francis Cuss, the Vice-President of Research and Development. BMS also has a Board of Directors that is elected annually by the company shareholders. The Board of Directors is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the aforementioned executive team, who are ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm. The management from senior executives is as expected in company of the size and stature BMS represents. According to their company website, Bristol Myers Squibb grows leaders at all levels, while focusing on promoting internally. There is a “Global Learning and Development Department” within the company which provides courses structured to align with personal career objectives. There are also additional hands-on courses focusing in developing communication skills, time management, team building, computer applications, and giving effective presentations, which are available to employees. Environmental Analysis
Bristol-Myers Squibb is said to be an acknowledged industry leader in environment, health and safety. BMS is recognized for its innovation and sustainability within the pharmaceutical industry, and are currently able to fuel any growth options. Their 2011 net sales reached $21.2 billion while Bristol-Myers Squibb has become a trusted ‘brand name’. Nevertheless, BMS’s strength lies in its top selling and top rated products: Abilify and Plavix.
The pharmaceutical market alone could offer growth possibilities for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Growth is sustainable with products in demanding areas such as biologics, cancer, and cardiovascular drugs. The growth of BMS is driven by its blockbuster drugs such as Plavix, which helped earn $7.1 billion in 2011.
Failure to gain approval for new drug launches poses a threat for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Failure to gain approval is not only a potential threat but can also be very costly to the firm. A lot of money goes into the research and development of these new drugs. Counterfeit drugs also present a threat. One of the company’s main focuses is providing its customers with effective, high quality products, which could potentially be offset by the threat of counterfeit medications. Although there is no simple solution to this issue, Bristol has efforts in place to ensure the integrity of its products. For starters, Bristol has a team that personally handles all of the counterfeit drug complaints that arise. There will also be better technology in place to ensure that both the packaging and the products are less vulnerable to counterfeiting.
The only weakness of Bristol-Myers Squibb is simply the uncontrollable exposure of their drugs to generics. The expiration of patents is a continually challenging aspect for the company to attempt to handle. After the patent on a drug expires, any pharmaceutical company can manufacture and sell it, opening the doors for generic competition and ultimately lower profits for BMS.
Competition
Bristol Myers Squib has a lot of competitors in the pharmaceutical world because of the complexity and demand of the market. One of their biggest competitors is Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories is company that specializes in HIV treatments, arthritis therapy, and nutritional products. Abbott laboratories also make diagnostics instruments. Abbott laboratories is known as a great place to work, and they also provide excellent health care and long-term retirement options. They are involved in more than one hundred and thirty countries and also own Ensure, which is a leading nutritional product around the globe. Abbott Laboratories has a very wide range of products and always looking to expand their base. They are also known to have good product lifestyle management. The weakness that Abbott Laboratories faces is much of the same for many pharmaceutical companies. Abbott may have the problem of relying more heavily for revenue on one certain product, such as Humira. The threat of new entrants in this industry is always high. Abbott Laboratories also invests a lot of money into new drugs which were unable to pass clinical trials; for example, Briakinumab. Also, Abbott Laboratories has a lot of pending legal litigations, which presents an estimated loss of over 75 million dollars to the firm.
Pfizer is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Pfizer has an immensely diversified portfolio and are recognizable across the world. Pfizer is a giant and has a presence internationally because of its sales and the marketing capabilities they possess. Pfizer has both animal care brands and a strong presence in pharmaceuticals. It has produced many popular drugs such as Lipitor and Lyrica. Another advantage that Pfizer has is that it has merged or acquired some of its competitors. For example, Pfizer acquired Wyeth for 68 billion dollars in 2009. Pfizer also invest a lot of money into their research and development department, which is why they are known as the industry’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company. Pfizer also has a blockbuster drug portfolio, producing such drugs as Viagra. Pfizer does best at finding its drugs and marketing their benefits to patients and physicians across the country and world. Pfizer always has to worry about patents expiring on their larger drugs, and the more reliant the company becomes on certain drugs, the greater the risk they face. The sheer size of Pfizer really restricts how much it can expand in the future. Pfizer has had and is having a lot of legal troubles, for example in 2009 Pfizer got charged with the largest health care fraud in America history, being forced to pay 2.3 billion dollars to the government.
Merck & Company is also a competitor for Bristol Myers Squibb. Merck produces pharmaceuticals and animal health care products as well. Merck gave itself competitive advantage when they merged with Schering-Plough in 2009, because it improved its product pipeline, reduced operating costs, and increased its size and outreach across the world. Merck is industry-leading in the department of vaccines, as they have recently been strong in releasing strong products at a rapid pace. Merck produced Vioxx, which was their blockbuster drug, but quickly proposed many difficulties for the company. Vioxx was found to increase the risks of heart attacks and strokes, and Merck was forced to take it off the market. Merck paid 4.85 billion dollars to settle lawsuits because of Vioxx. Merck also had to pay 950 million dollars for criminal charges over the drug.
All of these companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb, face the same weakness or threats. They all have to worry about expiring patents, major competition from large and small biotech companies, risk of lawsuits and failing drugs, and the ever changing world of pharmaceuticals. BMS is able to build a competitive advantage by acquiring competing companies, through being the first to release a certain drug, and through investing in research and development.
Situational Analysis
One problem that Bristol-Myers Squib is currently facing is the Food and Drug Administration delaying approval of a new anti-clotting drug called Eliquis. Eliquis is already being sold in Europe, so this problem is applicable only in the United States. The Wall Street Journal expects the delay of the product to cut into earnings from the drug in the 2012 calendar year. However, future demand is expected to remain constant and the drug is expected to be used frequently to treat blood clots.
Eliquis was originally supposed to be in review by the Food and Drug Administration for six months instead of the typical ten month process that the FDA uses. This special treatment was intended to shorten the time period it would take to reach the market but the advantage has now been lost. The delay seems to have been caused by data that was not complete enough for approval from the Food and Drug Administration. It is speculated by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg that the data suggested Eliquis was also subject to a higher rate of bleeding than another drug already on the market for the same purpose, Enoxaparin.
Bristol-Myers Squib makes many drugs that need to be approved by the FDA. In the future, in order to maximize profits, there are a few measures that should be taken. One is to communicate with the FDA exactly what data will be needed for approval ahead of time. Three senior members of the team assigned to make the drug should be in communication with the scientists of our company and the bureaucrats of the FDA to try to pinpoint possible delays before they happen, and supply the FDA with the information required.
Another preliminary recommendation is to be able to know exactly how existing drugs stack up against the drugs within BMS, so the company can better pinpoint exactly how their drug is superior, and make that clear to the FDA for a streamlined approval process.
These recommendations are rather minor and will not be hard to implement at the same time. The communication process needs to be made effective by ensuring the appropriate people from BMS and the FDA are involved. Bristol Myers Squibb should require additional employees to analyze comparisons between company drugs and the drugs currently on the market, to find situations where they are superior. The cost of these actions will be negligible compared to the losses that would have been inflicted upon normal delays. Taking these facts into consideration for all of future drugs, Bristol-Myers Squib should have an improved ability to get drugs to the market as fast as possible, in order to maximize profits and improve patient lives. BMS can monitor progress by analyzing whether overall percentage of delayed drugs improves, and additionally, if the time drugs are delayed decreases.
Future Plans Bristol Myers Squibb continues to make improvements to their management techniques and persistently lead the way in the world of pharmaceutical companies. They will advance their research into HIV/AIDS medicines, as well as into Alzheimer’s, hepatitis, diabetes, arthritis, and numerous antibiotics to fight the continually changing diseases present to the human population. Bristol Myers Squibb plans to head into the ever changing world of pharmaceuticals at an industry-leading pace.

References

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