Bristol-Myers Squibb said it had a strong start to the year. In the first quarter, the American pharmaceutical company managed to boost both turnover and profit. The group also reports that the shareholders agree with the mega acquisition of biotechnologist Celgene.
Revenues were 14 percent higher than a year earlier, at $ 5.9 billion. This was partly due to strong sales of cancer drugs Opdivo and Yervoy and blood thinner Eliquis. Below the line, the company was left with 1.7 billion dollars, against a profit of 1.5 billion dollars a year earlier. Furthermore, the profit forecast for the whole of 2019 has been somewhat boosted.
The American company Celgene is being recruited for 74 billion dollars by Bristol-Myers Squibb. The deal announced at the beginning of the year is one of the largest acquisitions ever in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. The merger is intended to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Moreover, industry colleague AbbVie speaks of a good start to the year. The pharmaceutical company has also increased its profit forecast. Turnover fell slightly due to unfavorable exchange rate effects, from $ 7.9 billion to $ 7.8 billion. Net profit fell from 2.8 billion to 2.5 billion dollars. With its major anti-inflammatory drug Humira, AbbVie has been struggling with competition from cheaper variants for a while.
