UPDATE: Bristol-Myers Cuts Abilify Sales Force By About 25%

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) has eliminated about 25% of its sales force for the antipsychotic drug Abilify, a spokesman for the drug maker said Friday.

The job cuts resulted from an evaluation the New York drug maker conducted after it extended its co-marketing pact with Otsuka Corp. (4768.TO) for Abilify earlier this year, spokesman Brian Henry said, calling the move a "better deployment of our resources."

Otsuka, however, made a commensurate increase in its Abilify sales force, so there was effectively no reduction in the overall Abilify sales force, a Bristol spokeswoman said.

Henry declined to specify how many jobs were cut by Bristol-Myers Squibb, saying the size of its Abilify sales force was proprietary. Bristol had about 35,000 employees at the end of last year.

Most major drug companies have steadily reduced their sales forces in recent years to save costs and address doctors' complaints that they were being bombarded by too many sales representatives.

Bristol recorded $1.2 billion in Abilify sales for the six months ended June 30, making it the second best-selling Bristol drug behind blood thinner Plavix.

The Bristol job cuts were reported earlier by Bloomberg News.

-By Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; 215-656-8289; [e-mail]