Bristol-Myers to Shed Otezla, Carving Path for Celgene Deal

By Kimberly Chin 

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said it would divest itself of Otezla, a psoriasis treatment owned by Celgene Corp., to win approval from regulators and help smooth the path for the companies' pending merger.

The divestiture seeks address the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's concerns about the marketed and pipeline products of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treatments from the two companies. In March, the commission requested more information as part of its antitrust review of the companies' $74 billion deal.

If the FTC agrees with the conditions of the divestiture, Bristol-Myers said it expects the Celgene transaction to be completed as soon as the end of the year or the start of 2020.

The New York biopharmaceutical company also said Monday it finished its pre-notification process with the European Commission and submitted a formal application for clearance of the deal.

Separately, Bristol Myers said Monday that its Phase 3 study of Opdivo, a medication for a common type of liver cancer, didn't meet its main goals but showed an improvement in the overall survival of patients treated with the drug compared with sorafenib, which is the current standard of treatment.

Dave Sebastian contributes to this article.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 24, 2019 08:38 ET (12:38 GMT)

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