Bristol Is Not Bayer: Primary Care Strategy Is “Different, Not Exit”

Bristol-Myers Squibb is trying a "different model" for primary care, but the company has no intention of exiting the market, CEO Peter Dolan told the Bear Stearns conference in New York Sept. 13.

Bristol "clearly will and intends to have a meaningful presence in primary care through our cardiovascular businesses as well as our diabetes and, potentially, obesity franchises down the road," Dolan declared.

Bristol is focusing its promotional efforts on specialty markets and select primary care physicians as it attempts to ride out a period of patent expirations (¹ (Also see "Bristol Prepares For Life After Pravachol: Support Will Continue Into 2005" - Pink Sheet, 16 Aug, 2004.), p. 28).

The company is trying a "different model...not exiting primary care," Dolan said.

Dolan spoke the same day that Bayer announced it is turning over virtually all of its primary care marketing activities in the U.S. to Schering-Plough while the company continues through a period of retrenchment (see ² (Also see "Bayer U.S. Focus Will Be Oncology, Blood Products And OTCs" - Pink Sheet, 20 Sep, 2004.) ).

Bristol remains interested in partnership agreements that will allow it to maximize the potential of pipeline projects in the primary care market, Dolan added.

"In some arenas where we want to complement what we have, particularly in the primary care arena, we might consider potential partnerships in the future," Dolan said.

Bristol will "augment and supplement our efforts as appropriate with partnerships and other approaches to reach beyond our targeted focus in primary care."

"In some areas where we are currently very strong and have a history and a capability to reach all of our target audiences, we are unlikely to look for partners," Dolan said.

He cited Bristol's recent agreement with Merck for the Phase III antidiabetic muraglitazar as an example of the company's approach to partnerships.

The co-promotion agreement "gives us an opportunity to optimize the compound in a category - diabetes care - where it will be important to have a full complement of capabilities to reach primary care physicians in some depth to maximize the opportunity."

Under an agreement announced in April, Merck paid $100 mil. up front for co-promotion rights to muraglitazar (³ (Also see "Merck Gets Second Chance On Dual PPAR: Will Develop Bristol’s Muraglitazar" - Pink Sheet, 3 May, 2004.), p. 15).

On the in-licensing side, Bristol believes it is still a credible partner, at least in the 10 disease areas where it is focusing R&D activities, Dolan said.

"We would clearly continue to be interested in licensing in and accessing technology in those disease areas where we think we can build leadership positions where we have significant unmet medical need and where we have company competency and capability that would allow our partner to believe...we are going to focus those resources in those disease areas where we are looking to bring in assets," Dolan said.

Bristol's history of marketing in-licensed products shows "senior management commitment to compounds that we have licensed," Dolan noted.

Bristol expects to file three NDAs before the end of the year: muraglitazar; the hepatitis B therapy entecavir; and the rheumatoid arthritis agent abatacept.

Dolan was asked specifically whether Bristol will market entecavir on its own. "In terms of resources, we haven't communicated yet how we intend to do it."

However, "we believe Bristol-Myers Squibb has the capability internally to provide the necessary number of details to make entecavir a success."

The company expects to end the year with another four agents in Phase III development, including edifoligide for vein graft failure, ixabepilone for metastatic breast cancer, a DPP4 inhibitor for type 2 diabetes and LEA29Y for use in solid organ transplants.

Dolan also highlighted the successes of Bristol's recent commercial launches, particularly the antipsychotic Abilify , the HIV therapy Reyataz and the oncologic Erbitux .

Abilify is now the most successful launch in Bristol's history, Dolan said, and the company believes it is in the top 10 pharmaceutical launches of all time.