Bristol-Myers Sales Slump 30% on Generic Pressure

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) reported a sharp decline in third-quarter sales and a weaker-than-expected adjusted profit on Wednesday as it continued to grapple with patent expirations from earlier this year.

The company posted a loss of 43 cents a share compared with a year-earlier profit of 56 cents. Excluding one-time items, Bristol-Myers said it earned 41 cents, missing average analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll by a penny.

Revenue for the three-month period fell 30% to $3.7 billion from $5.3 billion a year ago and missed the Street’s view of $3.98 billion as Bristol-Myers continued to struggle to overcome a decline in sales of its blood pressure drugs Avapro and Avalide, after they lost patent exclusivity in March, and its stroke treatment Plavix, which started facing generic competition in May.

While the New York-based company has been trying to rebuild its drug pipeline to make up for an intensifying generic environment, it faced a setback during the last quarter when it discontinued its hepatitis C drug BMS-986094 after one patient died and several others were hospitalized.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb faced challenges in the third quarter,” CEO Lamberto Andreotti said in a statement. “I am proud of how we worked through these challenges and made the right decisions for patients.”

He added that the company remains strong and well-positioned for future success as exemplified recently by the achievement of regulatory milestones for Eliquis, Orencia, Yervoy and its acquisition of Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

Bristol-Myers, whose shares slumped about 1.5% to $32.74 on Wednesday, struck a deal this summer to buy the diabetes drug maker for $5.3 billion.