Bristol-Myers Squibb’s growth portfolio is on track to offset declines in legacy products, even as star heart drug Camjos faces new competition.
A year ago, in the first quarter of 2025, BMS’s revenue was a perfectly even mix of its old legacy portfolio and new growth products. According to the presentation (PDF), by the first quarter of 2026, growth products will be in development, with new drugs accounting for $6.2 billion of the quarter’s total sales of $11.5 billion.
Across more than a dozen growth products, the segment’s 12% sales increase was primarily driven by the obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) treatment Camjos, the CAR-T cell therapy Breyanzi, and the blood disease treatment Revrodil. Opdivo, a PD-1 inhibitor, remains the company’s top earner with global sales of $2.14 billion, but sales fell 5% year over year due to lower sales in the United States.
One threat to BMS’ growing product portfolio was the December approval of Myqorzo (aficamten), a cardiac myosin inhibitor comparable to BMS’s Camzyos, for the treatment of Cytokinetics (oHCM). But BMS, which acquired Camzyos through the MyoKardia acquisition after MyoKardia developed the drug with Cytokinetics, had already been “planning to compete for quite some time,” Chief Commercialization Officer Adam Lenkowski explained on a conference call with investors.
Part of BMS’ confidence in the early days of competitor launches comes from physicians’ comfort with the more established drug given its “very clear” established infrastructure and workflow under an FDA-mandated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. As it stands, nearly 25,000 patients in the U.S. have been prescribed Camjos, with “several thousand more” worldwide, Lenkowski said.
Lenkowski also cited Camzyo’s dosing schedule as an advantage over competing products.
“While Kamjos patients feel better within a few weeks, we have found that competitors require multiple titration steps to reach an effective dose,” the executive explained, adding that BMS is “confident as a leader in this space in the long term.”
The drug’s sales of $314 million, up 97% year-over-year, exceeded William Blair analysts’ expectations of $278 million, according to a recent note.
Meanwhile, in neuroscience, the company is focused on increasing adoption of its schizophrenia drug Cobenfy and projects a “stable growth trajectory,” according to a BMS presentation.
The antipsychotic, touted as a potential blockbuster last year, had a somewhat underwhelming debut, but the drug posted a 107% year-over-year sales increase in the first quarter and a tepid $56 million in revenue for the quarter. The company is studying Cobenfy across a number of new indications, including several indications related to Alzheimer’s disease, to expand its indications.
BMS believes these indications, such as psychosis and agitation in Alzheimer’s disease, are “a real important unmet need” and that Cobenfi could have a role in typical antipsychotic treatment, which can have “significant safety limitations,” Lenkowski said.
The company plans to release pivotal data on Cobenfi in its Alzheimer’s disease psychosis trial this year after a planned release of end-2025 data was delayed due to “misconduct” on the site.
Elsewhere, sandwiched between a 6% sales decline across BMS’ collection of older legacy products is growth for Eliquis, which is partnered with Pfizer. Sales of the drug rose 16% year over year to $4.13 billion, “more than offset” by generic hits for the rest of its traditional portfolio, but the company expects global growth to continue at around 10% to 15% for the year.
“We’re doing what we say we’re going to do,” CEO Chris Werner said. “We are executing across the business and driving a truly differentiated pipeline that we think will enhance the growth profile of the company.”
Beyond new growth products and pipelines, other pillars driving long-term, sustainable growth for BMS include optimizing R&D operations with AI and a focus on financial discipline, which “gives us flexibility to invest in growth, pursue rational business development, and ultimately realize long-term value,” Werner said.
“There is always more work to do, but the foundation we have built and the momentum we are seeing gives us confidence in the trajectory of our business,” Werner said.
