BMY, §1A diff (2021 → 2022)
Added paragraphs (6871 words)
Our products continue to be subject to increasing pressures across the portfolio from pharmaceutical market access and pricing controls, required rebates and other discounts, in the U.S., the EU and other regions around the world that result in lower prices, lower reimbursement rates and smaller populations for whom payers will reimburse. We expect that these market access constraints, pricing controls and discounting and other restrictions will become more acute as public and private payers continue to take aggressive steps to control their expenditures. Our future revenues and profit margins could be negatively affected, including as a result of (i) changes in laws and regulations relating to the pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products (including potential penalties for increasing prices over the rate of inflation, new discounts to fund a redesign of the Medicare Part D benefit, government negotiations/price controls that may establish a maximum allowed price/reimbursement rate), as well as other changes relating to federal healthcare programs, such as modifying the federal Anti-Kickback statute discount safe harbor and the IRA, which includes a number of provisions intended to lower the costs of some drugs covered under Medicare Part D and Medicare Part B and to limit Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare Part D benefit, (ii) cost-cutting measures by federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, MCOs and other institutional and governmental purchasers, (iii) the grant of additional authority to governmental agencies to manage drug utilization and negotiate drug prices (including the implementation of the 2020 regulation issued by the U.S. federal government authorizing states and private parties to develop and implement programs to import certain prescription drugs from Canada and sell them in the U.S., and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which eliminates the Medicaid Prescription Drug Rebate cap starting January 1, 2024), (iv) expanded utilization under the 340B Drug Pricing Program ("340B program"), (v) competition related to placements on applicable commercial and Medicare Part D formularies; (vi) changes to U.S. federal pharmaceutical coverage and reimbursement policies and practices, (vii) the increased scrutiny of drug manufacturers (including any additional review of BMS or Celgene by the House Oversight and Reform Committee), (viii) reimbursement delays, (ix) government price erosion mechanisms across Europe and in other countries resulting in deflation for pharmaceutical product pricing, (x) the increased purchasing power of entities that negotiate on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid and private sector beneficiaries, (xi) collection delays or failures to pay in government-funded public hospitals outside the U.S., (xii) developments in technology and/or industry practices that could impact the reimbursement policies and practices of third-party payers, and (xiii) inhibited market access due to real or perceived differences in value propositions for our products compared to competing products.
Additionally, manufacturers who are found to have knowingly and intentionally overcharged 340B program covered entities could be subject to significant monetary penalties. Over the course of the past few years, Celgene had received inquiries from Human Resources and Services Administration regarding the limited distribution networks for Revlimid, Pomalyst, and Thalomid and compliance with the 340B program. As part of our broader integration strategy and alignment of our distribution model (post our acquisition of Celgene Corporation) we had announced that beginning March 1, 2022, we would recognize up to two designated 340B program contract pharmacy locations per 340B program hospital that lacks an entity-owned pharmacy. Although we believe that we have complied with, and continue to comply with, all applicable legal requirements, additional legal or legislative changes with respect to the 340B program may cause us to update our approach. Significant changes to our sales or pricing practices with regard to the distribution of drugs under the 340B program, or any material changes in our U.S. payer channel mix, could have an adverse effect on our revenues and profitability. In addition, if we are required to pay penalties under the applicable regulations, there would be an adverse effect on our revenues and profitability. For additional information on pricing pressures and other constraints, refer to “Item 1. Business—Pricing, Price Constraints and Market Access.”
As is common in the pharmaceutical industry, BMS expects that sales of its key brand products like Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane will decline after the loss of market exclusivity for such products. Consequently, our future success is highly dependent on our pipeline of new products. There is a high rate of failure inherent in the research and development process for new drugs. As a
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result, there is a high risk that funds we invest in research programs will not generate financial returns. Compounds or products may appear promising in development but fail to reach market within the expected or optimal timeframe, or at all. We have experienced setbacks and may continue to do so.
In addition, product extensions or additional indications may not be approved. Furthermore, products or indications approved under the U.S. FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory studies and such studies may not be successful.
Developing and commercializing new compounds and products involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including (i) efficacy and safety concerns or findings of superior safety or efficacy of competing products; (ii) delayed or denied regulatory approvals, including as a result of difficulties in enrolling patients and completing clinical trials in a timely manner; (iii) delays or challenges with producing products on a commercial scale or excessive costs to manufacture products; (iv) failure to enter into or implement optimal alliances for the development and/or commercialization of new products; (v) changes in regulatory approval processes and policies which may cause delays or denials of new product approvals; (vi) preclusion from commercialization due to intellectual property issues or disputes with third parties; (vii) failure in certain markets to obtain reimbursement commensurate with the level of innovation and clinical benefit presented by the product; and (viii) changing clinical preferences, changing industry standards, laws and regulations, or competitors’ innovations, each of which may render new products or enhancements to existing products obsolete.
We are also unable to predict if and when any changes to laws or regulatory policies will occur and how they will affect our business and particularly our pipeline of new products.
Regulatory approval delays are especially common when a product is expected to have a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy ("REMS") program, as required by the U.S. FDA to address significant risk/benefit issues, and we expect that certain of our future key products will be distributed in the U.S. primarily through a REMS program. The inability to bring a product to market or a significant delay in the expected approval and related launch date of a new product could negatively impact our revenues and earnings. In addition, if certain acquired pipeline programs are canceled or we believe their commercial prospects have been reduced, we may recognize material non-cash impairment charges for those programs. Finally, losing key molecules and intermediaries or our compound library through a natural or man-made disaster or act of sabotage could negatively impact the product development cycle.
We can provide no assurance when or whether any of our products under development will be approved or launched or whether any products, once launched, will be commercially successful. The public announcement of data from our clinical studies, or those of our competitors, or news of any developments related to our, or our competitors’, products or late-stage compounds may cause significant volatility in our stock price and depending on the data, may result in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. If the development of any of our key late-stage product candidates is delayed or discontinued or a clinical study does not meet one or more of its primary endpoints, our stock price could decline significantly and there may be an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We must maintain a continuous flow of successful new products and successful new indications for existing products sufficient both to cover our substantial research and development costs and to replace sales that are lost as profitable products lose market exclusivity or are displaced by competing products or therapies. Failure to do so in the short-term or long-term can have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flow, financial condition and prospects. There can be no assurance that our key product candidates would prove to be safe and effective or as safe and effective as other competing products, or that, even if approved, any such products will become commercially successful for all approved indications.
Generic and biosimilar product manufacturers as well as other groups seeking financial gain are also increasingly seeking to challenge patents before they expire, and we could face earlier-than-expected competition for any products at any time. Patents covering our key products have been, and are likely to continue to be, subject to validity, enforceability and infringement challenges in patent litigations and post-grant review patent office proceedings. Although we are confident in the strength of our intellectual property rights, it may be possible for generic drug companies to successfully challenge our rights and launch their generic versions of our drugs prior to the expiration of our intellectual property rights. For example, following certain adverse judicial decisions in the UK and the Netherlands, generic manufacturers have begun marketing generic versions of Eliquis in the UK and Netherlands, and may seek to market generic versions of Eliquis in additional countries in Europe, prior to the expiration of our patents, which may lead to additional infringement and invalidity actions involving Eliquis patents being filed in various countries in Europe. In addition, in order to avoid the uncertainty and expense of litigation, among other reasons, we may decide to enter into settlements with generic manufacturers that permit generic market entry prior to the expiration of our intellectual property rights. For example, as a result of patent settlements, generic entry for Revlimid in the United Kingdom began on January 18, 2022, and in various other European countries on February 18, 2022. Similarly, in the U.S., following patent settlements, certain companies were granted volume-limited licenses to sell generic lenalidomide in the U.S. commencing in March 2022 or thereafter.
In some cases, manufacturers may seek regulatory approval by submitting their own clinical study data to obtain marketing approval or choose to launch a generic product “at risk” before the expiration of the applicable patent(s) and/or before the final resolution of related patent litigation. In addition, some countries are allowing manufacturers to manufacture and sell generic products, which negatively impacts the protections afforded the Company. Lower-priced generics or biosimilars for BMS biologic products or competing biologics could negatively impact our volumes and prices.
In addition, both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. FDA have taken steps to promote the development and approval of generic drugs and biosimilar biologics, including by providing generic and biosimilar developers a private right of action to obtain sufficient quantities of drug samples from the reference product’s manufacturer in order to conduct testing necessary to obtain approval for generic or biosimilar products.
There is no assurance that a particular product will enjoy market exclusivity for the full time period that appears in the estimates disclosed in this 2022 Form 10-K or that we assume when we provide our financial guidance.
The future growth of BMS is dependent on the market access, uptake and expansion for marketed brands, new product introductions, new indications, product extensions and co-promotional activities with alliance partners. Competition is keen and as we lose exclusivity for some of our marketed brands lower-priced generic products will increasingly penetrate our markets. Generic challenges to our products can also arise at any time, and our patents may not prevent the emergence of generic competition for our products. In some countries, patent protection is significantly weaker than in the United States or in the EU; political and social pressure has also pushed legislation and other measures that promote the use of generic and biosimilar products. For additional information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—We could lose market exclusivity of a product earlier than expected.”
In addition, we face competition from new products entering the market, particularly in IO. New products may have (i) lower prices, (ii) superior efficacy (benefit) or safety (risk) profiles (whether actual or perceived), (iii) technological advantages that may make such products more convenient to use, (iv) better insurance coverage or reimbursement levels, (v) more effective marketing programs and/or other differentiating factors that make it harder for our products to compete. We cannot predict with accuracy the timing or impact of the introduction of competitive products that treat diseases and conditions like those treated by our products and product candidates. Business combinations among our competitors and major third-party payers may also increase competition for our products. If we are unable to compete successfully against our competitors’ products in the marketplace, this could have a material negative impact on our revenues and earnings.
We could experience difficulties, delays and disruptions in our supply chain as well as in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products.
Our product supply and related patient access has been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted by difficulties, delays and disruptions in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products. Some of the difficulties, delays and disruptions include: (i) product seizures or recalls or forced closings of manufacturing plants; (ii) our failure, or the failure of any of our vendors or suppliers, to comply with cGMP and other applicable regulations or quality assurance guidelines that could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages or delays in product manufacturing; (iii) manufacturing, quality assurance/quality control, supply problems or governmental approval delays; (iv) the failure of a supplier, including sole source or single source suppliers, to provide us with the necessary raw materials, supplies or finished goods within a reasonable timeframe and with required quality; (v) the failure of a third-party manufacturer to supply us with bulk active or finished product on time; (vi) construction or regulatory approval delays for new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities, including those intended to support future demand for our
biologics products, such as Opdivo; (vii) the failure to meet new and emerging regulations requiring products to be tracked throughout the distribution channels using unique identifiers to verify their authenticity in the supply chain; (viii) other manufacturing or distribution issues, including limits to manufacturing capacity and changes in the types of products produced, such as biologics, physical limitations or other business interruptions; and (ix) disruptions in supply chain continuity, including from market forces (such as the recent stress on global logistics), natural disasters, global disease outbreaks or pandemics (including COVID-19), acts of war or terrorism or other unforeseeable or unavoidable events that materially impact one or more of our facilities or a critical supplier.
In addition, manufacturing processes for novel cell-based therapies, such as CAR-T cell therapies, are still evolving, and our processes may be more complicated or more expensive than the approaches taken by our current and future competitors. Our ability to source raw materials and supplies used to manufacture our CAR-T cell therapies and to develop consistent and reliable manufacturing processes and distribution networks with an attractive cost of goods could impact future anticipated revenue and gross profit for our CAR-T cell therapies. Furthermore, we may face challenges with sourcing raw materials and supplies for clinical and, if approved, commercial manufacturing. Logistical and shipment delays and other factors not in our control could prevent or delay the delivery of our product candidates and marketed products to patients. Additionally, we are required to maintain a complex chain of identity and custody with respect to patient material as such material enters into and moves through the manufacturing process. As a result, even slight deviations at any point in the production process for our CAR-T cell therapies or in material used in our CAR-T cell therapies could result in loss of product or regulatory remedial action, which could adversely affect our future anticipated revenues and/or profitability related to our CAR-T cell therapies.
We and certain of our subsidiaries are, and in the future may be, involved in various legal proceedings, including patent litigation, such as claims that our patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or do not cover the product of the generic drug manufacturer or where third parties seek damages and/or injunctive relief to compensate for alleged infringement of their patents by our commercial or other activities. Resolving an intellectual property infringement claim can be costly and time consuming and may require us to enter into license agreements, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms. A successful claim of patent or other intellectual property infringement could subject us to significant damages and/or an injunction preventing the manufacture, sale, or use of the affected product or products. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and financial condition.
We are currently subject to a number of government laws and regulations and, in the future, could become subject to new government laws and regulations. The costs of compliance with such laws and regulations, or the negative results of non-compliance, could adversely affect our business, our operating results and the financial condition of our Company. These laws and regulations control and regulate key aspects of our business including but not limited to (i) market access, pricing controls and discounting; (ii) tax liabilities, returns and payments; (iii) imports and other trade restrictions; (iv) intellectual property protection and enforcement; (v) good practice guidelines and regulations; (vi) accounting standards; (vii) data storage and privacy, particularly in the EU and the U.S.; (viii) requirements for reporting payments and other value transfers to healthcare professionals (such as those provided under the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute); and (ix) compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices of the U.S. and other countries.
In addition, the U.S. healthcare industry is highly regulated and subject to frequent and substantial changes, including as a result of new judicial or governmental decisions. For example, the U.S. FDA has indicated it is undertaking an industry-wide review of indications that received accelerated approval and for which the confirmatory studies did not meet their primary endpoints. Also, we anticipate continued U.S. congressional interest in modifying provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”), particularly given its numerous legal challenges (such as the California v. Texas case) and polarized public support. The
revenues that we generate by the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion under the ACA are not material, so the impact of the change in law and similar recent administration actions is expected to be limited. Any future replacement, modification or repeal of the ACA may adversely affect our business and financial results, particularly if the legislation reduces incentives for employer-sponsored insurance coverage. We cannot predict how other future federal or state legislative or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business. For additional information, refer to “Item 1. Business—Government Regulation” and “Item 1. Business—Pricing, Price Constraints and Market Access.”
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and various other countries globally. Changes in tax laws and regulations can and do occur. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the "TCJA") reduced the U.S. tax rate to 21% and introduced broad and complex changes resulting in numerous new regulations and interpretations. Significant judgment is required for determining the Company’s tax liabilities, and the Company’s tax returns are periodically examined by various tax authorities. We have faced, and may continue to face, audit challenges on how we apply a tax law or regulation. The ultimate resolution of any tax matters may result in payments greater or less than amounts accrued, which could have a negative impact on our provision for income taxes. In addition, our future earnings could be negatively impacted by further changes in tax legislation, including changes in tax rates and tax base such as limiting, phasing-out or eliminating deductions or tax credits, increase taxing of certain excess income from intellectual property, revising tax law interpretations in domestic or foreign jurisdictions, changes in rules for earnings repatriations and changes in other tax laws in the U.S. or other countries. Notably, in July and October 2021 OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework agreed on the general rules for redefined jurisdictional taxation rights and a global minimum tax. In December 2022, the EU member states voted unanimously to adopt a Directive implementing the Pillar 2 (global minimum tax) rules giving member states until December 31, 2023 to implement the Directive into national legislation. Further details regarding implementation of these rules are expected and if implemented could have a material impact on our tax provision and results of operations.
We rely on suppliers, vendors, outsourcing partners, alliance partners and other third parties to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, co-promote and sell our products, manage certain marketing, human resource, finance, IT, data and other business unit and functional services and meet their contractual, regulatory and other obligations. Using these third parties poses a number of risks, such as: (i) they may not perform to our standards or legal requirements, for example, in relation to the outsourcing of significant clinical development activities for innovative medicines to some contract research organizations; (ii) they may not produce reliable results; (iii) they may not perform in a timely manner; (iv) they may not maintain confidentiality of our proprietary information; (v) they may incur a significant cyberattack or business disruption; (vi) they may be subject to government orders or mandates that require them to give priority to the government and set aside pre-existing commercial orders; (vii) disputes may arise with respect to ownership of rights to technology developed with our partners; and (viii) disagreements could cause delays in, or termination of, the research, development or commercialization of the product or result in litigation or arbitration. Moreover, some third parties are located in markets subject to political and social risks, corruption, infrastructure problems and natural disasters, in addition to country specific privacy and data security risks given current legal and regulatory environments. The failure of any critical third party to satisfactorily meet its obligations, including for future royalty and milestone payments; to adequately deploy business continuity plans in the event of a crisis; and/or to satisfactorily resolve significant disagreements with us or address other factors, could have a material adverse impact on our operations and results. In addition, if these third parties violate, or are alleged to have violated, any laws or regulations, including the local pharmaceutical code, U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, UK Bribery Act, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, and other similar laws and regulations, during the performance of their obligations for us, it is possible that we could suffer financial and reputational harm or other negative outcomes, including possible legal consequences.
Pharmaceutical products receive regulatory approval based on data obtained in controlled clinical trials of limited duration. Additional clinical trials, head-to-head studies, adverse events reports following the use of our products over longer periods of time and studies that identify biomarkers (objective characteristics that can indicate a particular response to a product or therapy) that are conducted after obtaining marketing approval for our products, and regulatory changes to standards regarding safety, efficacy or labeling, may result in product label changes or other measures that could reduce the product's market acceptance and result in declining revenues. Sometimes additional information from new studies identifies a portion of the patient population that may be non-responsive to a medicine or would be at higher risk of adverse reactions and labeling changes based on such studies may limit the patient population. The studies providing such additional information may be sponsored by us, but they could also be sponsored by competitors, insurance companies, government institutions, MCOs, scientists, investigators or other interested parties. While additional safety and efficacy information from such studies assist us and healthcare providers in identifying the best patient population for each product, it can also negatively impact our operating results. New information added to a product’s label can affect its risk-benefit profile, leading to potential voluntary or mandatory recalls, withdrawals or declining revenue, as well as product liability claims. Additionally, certain study results, especially from head-to-head studies, could affect a product’s formulary listing, which could also adversely affect revenues.
In addition, if safety or efficacy concerns are raised about a third party's product in the same class as one of our products, those concerns could implicate the entire class and this, in turn, could have an adverse impact on the availability or commercial viability of our product(s) as well as other products in the class.
Increased use of social media platforms presents risks and challenges.
We are increasing our use of social media to communicate Company news and events. The inappropriate and/or unauthorized use of social media could cause brand damage or information leakage and may give rise to liability, including from the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information from employees, patients, healthcare professionals or other stakeholders. In addition, negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us on any social networking website could damage our reputation, brand image and goodwill and may cause significant volatility in our stock price. Further, the disclosure of non-public Company-sensitive information by our workforce or others, whether intentional or unintentional, through external media channels could lead to loss of trade secrets or other intellectual property, as well as the Company’s commercially sensitive information.
We rely extensively on information technology systems, networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools, physical security systems and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used for third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. A significant breakdown, invasion, corruption, destruction or interruption of critical information technology systems or infrastructure, by our workforce, others with authorized access to our systems or unauthorized persons could negatively impact operations. The ever-increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing, creates opportunities for the unintentional dissemination or intentional destruction or modification of confidential information stored in our, or our third-party providers’ systems, portable media or storage devices. We could also experience a business interruption, theft of confidential information or reputational damage from industrial espionage attacks, malware or other cyber-attacks, which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage, either internally or at our third-party providers. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, we observed an increase in cybersecurity incidents across the industry, predominantly ransomware and social engineering attacks. Further, government entities have also been the subject of cyberattacks. As the cyber-threat landscape evolves, these attacks are growing in frequency, sophistication and intensity, and due to the nature of some of these attacks, there is also a risk that they may remain undetected for a period of time. Although the aggregate impact of cybersecurity breaches and data leakage on our operations and financial condition have not been material to date, we have been the target of cyber-attacks and expect them to continue as cybersecurity threats have been rapidly evolving in sophistication and becoming more prevalent in the industry. We have invested in industry-appropriate protections and monitoring practices of our data and IT to reduce these risks and continue to monitor our systems on an ongoing basis for any current or potential threats. While we maintain cyber insurance, this insurance may not, however, be sufficient to cover the financial, legal, business or reputational losses that may result from an interruption or breach of our systems. There can be no assurance that our continuing efforts will prevent breakdowns or breaches to our or our third-party providers’ databases or systems that could adversely affect our business.
We derive a majority of our revenue and earnings from several key products. We expect that Revlimid, Eliquis, and Opdivo will represent a significant percentage of our revenue, earnings and cash flows during the next few years. A reduction in revenue from any
of these products due to loss of market exclusivity or other factors could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows. For additional information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—We could lose market exclusivity of a product earlier than expected.”
Also, if one of our major products were to become subject to issues such as loss of patent protection, significant changes in demand, formulary access changes, material product liability, unexpected side effects, regulatory proceedings, negative publicity, supply disruption from our manufacturing operations or third-party supplier or a significant advancement of competing products, we may incur an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or the trading price of our stock.
We have entered into several arrangements which entitle us to potential royalties from third parties for out-licensed intellectual property, commercialization rights and sales-based contingent proceeds related to the divestiture of businesses. In many of these arrangements we have minimal, if any, continuing involvement that contribute to the financial success of those activities. Royalties have continued to represent a significant percentage of our pretax income, including royalties related to the divestiture of our diabetes business (including the transfer of certain future royalty rights pertaining to Amylin, Onglyza* and Farxiga* product sales), out-licensed intellectual property and the Merck patent infringement settlement. Pretax income generated from royalties was approximately $2.5 billion in 2022. Our pretax income could be adversely affected if the royalty streams decline in future periods.
Failure to execute our business strategy or to identify and effectively manage acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio actions could adversely impact our growth and profitability and our future results. In addition, any businesses or assets that we acquire in the future may underperform, we may not be able to successfully integrate them into our existing business and the occurrence of a number of unexpected factors could prevent or substantially delay the consummation of an anticipated acquisition, divestiture or merger.
Our strategy is focused on delivering innovative, transformational medicines to patients in a focused set of disease areas. To support future revenue growth and maintain an adequate pipeline, we have acquired, or in-licensed, a number of assets and we expect to continue to support our pipeline with compounds or products obtained through licensing and acquisitions. Competition among pharmaceutical companies for acquisition and product licensing opportunities is intense, and we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition targets or licensing partners at reasonable prices, or successfully execute such transactions. If we are unable to consistently maintain an adequate pipeline, whether through internal R&D programs or transactions with third parties or if we are unable to support and grow our marketed products, successfully execute the launches of newly approved products, advance our late-stage pipeline, manage change from our operating model evolution or manage our costs effectively, our operating results and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Additionally, future revenues, profits and cash flows of an acquired company’s products, technologies and pipeline candidates may not materialize due to low product uptake, delayed or missed pipeline opportunities, the inability to capture expected synergies resulting from cost savings and avoidance, increased competition, safety concerns, regulatory issues, supply chain problems or other factors beyond our control. Substantial difficulties, costs and delays could result from integrating our acquisitions, including for: (i) R&D, manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing, promotion and information technology activities; (ii) policies, procedures, processes, controls and compliance; and (iii) tax considerations.
Where we acquire debt or equity securities as all or part of the consideration for business development activities, such as in connection with a joint venture or acquisition, the value of those securities will fluctuate and may depreciate in value. We may not control the company in which we acquire securities, such as in connection with a collaborative arrangement, and as a result, we will have limited ability to determine its management, operational decisions, internal controls and compliance and other policies, which can result in additional financial and reputational risks.
We may not be successful in separating underperforming or non-strategic assets, and gains or losses on the divestiture of, or lost operating income from, such assets may affect our earnings. Our divestitures also may result in continued financial exposure to the divested businesses, such as through guarantees or other financial arrangements, continued supply and services arrangements, or potential litigation, following the transaction. Under these arrangements, nonperformance by us could result in obligations being imposed on us that could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, cash flows, results of operations, financial condition or reputation.
If the execution or implementation of acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio actions is not successful, it could adversely impact our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Moreover, due to the substantial amount of debt that we incurred to finance the cash portion of the Celgene and MyoKardia acquisitions, there can be no assurance of when we will be
able to expand our business development capacity. Although we are committed to reducing our debt, pursuing strategic transaction opportunities in future may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, and could result in increased leverage and/or a downgrade of our credit ratings.
Our success is largely dependent on our continued ability to (i) attract and retain highly qualified scientific, technical and management workforce, including people with expertise in clinical R&D, governmental regulation and commercialization, and (ii) in connection with our acquisitions, integrate corporate cultures and maintain employee morale. We are facing increasing competition for a limited pool of qualified individuals from numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, government entities, research institutions, companies seeking to enter the healthcare space, and companies in other industries. We cannot be sure that we will be able to retain quality talent or that the costs of doing so will not materially increase.
We have significant indebtedness that could have negative consequences.
Adverse changes in U.S. and global economic and political conditions could adversely affect our operations and profitability.
Global economic and political risks pose significant challenges to a company’s growth and profitability and are difficult to mitigate. We generated approximately 30% of our revenues outside of the U.S. in 2022. As such, a global economic downturn could create or amplify a variety of risks to our business and could negatively affect our growth. In addition, uncertainty in the credit and capital markets could impact our growth strategy. Our revenues, earnings and cash flow are also exposed to risk from a strengthening U.S. dollar and global inflation, including in the U.S. If our operating costs were to significantly increase, whether as a result of rising inflation rates, wage increases or other factors, it could adversely affect our revenues and profitability. We also have exposure to customer credit risks in Europe, South America and other markets including from government-guaranteed hospital receivables in markets where payments are not received on time. We have significant operations in Europe, including for manufacturing and distribution. The results of our operations could be negatively impacted by any member country exiting the eurozone monetary union or EU. In particular, the exit of the UK from the EU, which occurred on January 31, 2020, created uncertainties affecting our business operations in the UK and the EU and may have an impact on our research, commercial and general business operations in the UK and the EU, including the approval and supply of our products and may require changes to our legal entity structure in the UK and the EU.
Additionally, our business and operations may be adversely affected by political volatility, conflicts or crises in individual countries or regions, including terrorist activities or war and pandemics or epidemics. The COVID-19 pandemic affected demand for some of our products driven by lower patient starts and visits, and we would expect any future pandemics to have a similar effect. In addition, while we did not experience any significant manufacturing or supply issues due to COVID-19, it is possible that we could experience these issues in response to future pandemics. For instance, we may experience scarcity of certain raw materials and components as a result of the influx of pandemic related vaccine orders receiving priority treatment from vendors. Furthermore, a future epidemic or pandemic could create material staffing shortages at our manufacturing sites which could disrupt the supply of our products. It is also possible that we may experience supply chain interruptions as a result of quarantines, shelter-in-place and other governmental orders and policies, travel restrictions, airline and cargo capacity and route reductions. We may also experience delays in the initiation and enrollment of patients in our clinical trials as a consequence of any future pandemic. We may not be able to fully mitigate these delays, which could negatively impact the timing of our pipeline development programs and expected future revenues and/or cash flows. A prolonged clinical trial delay could potentially have a significant negative effect on our business, particularly if new competitive products enter the market or clinical trial results for our competitors’ products affect the value proposition for our product. Any such delays or difficulties in clinical development could also potentially lead to a material impairment of our intangible assets, including the $35.9 billion of intangible assets as of December 31, 2022.
We cannot predict or reasonably estimate the impact of any potential long-term changes to the healthcare industry from global economic and political events, including any future pandemics. For example, there is potential for a shift in the U.S. payer channel mix due to changes in patient coverage from the current economic crisis, but we are not able to reliably estimate what the impact would be on our results of operations given the highly variable and uncertain situation. It is also possible that changes in the healthcare system could impose additional burdens on clinical trials, which could increase the costs of sponsoring clinical trials or lead to additional delays or difficulties with completing clinical trials. We may also experience additional pricing pressures and/or increased governmental regulation.
Global economic conditions or events such as wars or pandemics also create additional risks from their impact on our suppliers, vendors, outsourcing partners, alliance partners and other third parties that we rely on to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, co-promote and sell our products, manage certain marketing, selling, human resource, finance, IT and other business
unit and functional services. For example, if any of our third-party providers suffer from limited solvency because of global economic conditions, it could negatively impact our operating model and our business. Similarly, global events such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict can increase the volatility of the financial markets, foreign currency exchanges and interest rates. We could also face potential other negative consequences stemming from future pandemics or global events, including but not limited to increased cyber threats to us and our partners such as phishing, social engineering and malware attacks. It is possible that global economic and political events, including any future pandemic, could exacerbate any of the other risks described in this 2022 Form 10-K as well.
The declaration, amount and timing of any dividends fall within the discretion of our Board. The Board’s decision will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, debt service obligations, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. A reduction or elimination of our dividend payments or dividend program could adversely affect our stock price. In addition, we could, at any time, decide not to buy back any more shares in the market, or reduce the number of shares repurchased under our share repurchase program, which could also adversely affect our stock price. The IRA imposes a 1% excise tax on our net repurchases of shares after December 31, 2022. The imposition of the excise tax on repurchases of our shares may increase the cost to us of making repurchases and may cause our Board to reduce the number of shares repurchased pursuant to our share repurchase program.
Our amended bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (iii) action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended bylaws or (iv) action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided, however, that, in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding will be another state or federal court of the State of Delaware. Our bylaws also provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and consented to this forum selection provision.
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Our products continue to be subject to increasing pressures across the portfolio from pharmaceutical market access and pricing controls and discounting, changes to tax and importation laws and other restrictions in the U.S., the EU and other regions around the world that result in lower prices, lower reimbursement rates and smaller populations for whom payers will reimburse, which negatively impact our revenues and profit margins, including from (i) U.S. federal and state laws and regulations aimed at further regulating the pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products (including potential penalties for increasing prices over the rate of inflation, new discounts to fund a redesign of the Medicare Part D benefit, and government negotiations/price controls that may establish a maximum allowed price/reimbursement rate), as well as other changes in laws and regulations for federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, such as modifying the federal Anti-Kickback statute discount safe harbor, accelerating generic drug approval processes and granting additional authority to governmental agencies to manage drug utilization and negotiate drug prices (including the implementation of the 2020 regulation issued by the U.S. federal government authorizing states and private parties to develop and implement programs to import certain prescription drugs from Canada and sell them in the U.S., and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which eliminates the Medicaid Prescription Drug Rebate cap starting January 1, 2024), (ii) expanded utilization under the 340B Drug Pricing Program (“340B”); (iii) the competition related to placements on applicable commercial and Medicare Part D formularies; (iv) changes in U.S. income tax laws resulting in an increase to our income tax expense, including through increased taxation of our international operations; (v) changes in trade laws around the world, including drug importation laws; (vi) rules and practices of MCOs and institutional and governmental purchasers taking actions to control costs or shift the cost burden to manufacturers, including actions that could result in the exclusion of a product from, or the unfavorable placement of, a product on a MCO formulary; (vii) changes to U.S. federal pharmaceutical coverage and reimbursement policies and practices (including the potential impacts from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the Senate in August 2021 that, among other things, requires certain manufacturers of drugs payable under Medicare Part B to provide a rebate to the government for any discarded portion of the drug, the December 21, 2020 final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on the calculation of average manufacturer price, best price, and Medicaid rebates that addresses copay assistance and product line extensions among other topics, and a previously issued rule addressing the inclusion of sales in U.S. Territories in the calculation of average manufacturer price and best price beginning on January 1, 2023); (viii) the increased scrutiny of drug manufacturers (including any additional review of BMS or Celgene by the House Oversight and Reform Committee); (ix) reimbursement delays; (x) government price erosion mechanisms across Europe and in other countries resulting in deflation for pharmaceutical product pricing; (xi) the increased purchasing power of entities that negotiate on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid and private sector beneficiaries; (xii) collection delays or failures to pay in government-funded public hospitals outside the U.S.; (xiii) developments in technology and/or industry practices that could impact the reimbursement policies and practices of third-party payers; and (xiv) inhibited market access due to real or perceived differences in value propositions for our products compared to competing products. We expect that these market access constraints, pharmaceutical pricing controls and discounting and other restrictions will become more acute and will continue to negatively affect our future revenues and profit margins.
Additionally, in early 2016, Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) finalized a regulation regarding the 340B pricing methodology and providing guidelines for when civil monetary penalties may be issued for “knowing and intentional” manufacturer overcharges of 340B covered entities. The effective date of this regulation was January 1, 2019. Following the effective date, manufacturers who are found to have knowingly and intentionally overcharged 340B covered entities could be subject to significant monetary penalties. Over the course of the past few years, Celgene had received inquiries from HRSA regarding the limited distribution networks for Revlimid, Pomalyst, and Thalomid and compliance with the 340B program. As part of our broader integration strategy and alignment of our distribution model (post our acquisition of Celgene Corporation) we recently announced that beginning March 1, 2022, we will recognize up to two designated 340B contract pharmacy locations per 340B hospital that lacks an entity-owned pharmacy. Although we believe that we have complied with, and continue to comply with, all applicable legal requirements, additional legal or legislative changes with respect to the 340B program may cause us to update our approach. Significant changes to our sales or pricing practices with
regard to the distribution of drugs under the 340B program, or any material changes in our U.S. payer channel mix, could have an adverse effect on our revenues and profitability. In addition, if we are required to pay penalties under the applicable regulations, there would be an adverse effect on our revenues and profitability.
As is common in the pharmaceutical industry, BMS expects that sales of its key brand products like Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane will decline after the loss of market exclusivity for such products. Consequently, our future success is highly dependent on our pipeline of new products. There is a high rate of failure inherent in the research and development process for new drugs. As a result, there is a high risk that funds we invest in research programs will not generate financial returns. Compounds or products may appear promising in development but fail to reach market within the expected or optimal timeframe, or at all. For example, in November 2021, the FDA extended its review of our NDA for mavacamten and announced a new PDUFA action date of April 28, 2022; the FDA had earlier set a PDUFA action date of January 28, 2022.
In addition, product extensions or additional indications may not be approved. Furthermore, products or indications approved under the U.S. FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory studies and such studies may not be successful. For example, in July 2021, we announced that we voluntarily withdrew from the U.S. market the indication for Opdivo (nivolumab) as a single agent for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were previously treated with sorafenib. Opdivo was granted this indication in 2017 under the U.S. FDA's accelerated approval program. Our action to withdraw the indication was taken in consultation with the U.S. FDA in accordance with its standard procedures for evaluating accelerated approvals that have not met their post-marketing requirements and as part of a broader industry-wide evaluation.
Developing and commercializing new compounds and products involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including (i) efficacy and safety concerns or findings of superior safety or efficacy of competing products; (ii) delayed or denied regulatory approvals, including as a result of difficulties in enrolling patients and completing clinical trials in a timely manner; (iii) delays or challenges with producing products on a commercial scale or excessive costs to manufacture products; (iv) failure to enter into or implement optimal alliances for the development and/or commercialization of new products; (v) changes in regulatory approval processes which may cause delays or denials of new product approvals; (vi) preclusion from commercialization due to intellectual property issues or disputes with third parties; and (vii) failure in certain markets to obtain reimbursement commensurate with the level of innovation and clinical benefit presented by the product.
We are also unable to predict if and when any changes to laws or regulatory policies will occur and how they will affect our business and particularly our pipeline of new products. For example, in the U.S., a partial federal government shutdown halted the work of many federal agencies and their employees from late December 2018 through late January 2019. Any extended government shutdown could result in reductions or delays of U.S. FDA’s activities, including with respect to our ongoing clinical programs, our manufacturing of our products and product candidates and our product approvals.
Regulatory approval delays are especially common when a product is expected to have a REMS program, as required by the U.S. FDA to address significant risk/benefit issues, and we expect that certain of our future key products will be distributed in the U.S. primarily through a REMS program. The inability to bring a product to market or a significant delay in the expected approval and related launch date of a new product could negatively impact our revenues and earnings. In addition, if certain acquired pipeline programs are canceled or we believe their commercial prospects have been reduced, we may recognize material non-cash impairment charges for those programs. Finally, losing key molecules and intermediaries or our compound library through a natural or man-made disaster or act of sabotage could negatively impact the product development cycle.
We can provide no assurance when or whether any of our products under development will be approved or launched or whether any products, once launched, will be commercially successful. We must maintain a continuous flow of successful new products and successful new indications for existing products sufficient both to cover our substantial research and development costs and to replace sales that are lost as profitable products lose market exclusivity or are displaced by competing products or therapies. Failure to do so in the short term or long term can have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flow, financial condition and prospects.
The public announcement of data from our clinical studies, or those of our competitors, or news of any developments related to our, or our competitors’, products or late-stage compounds may cause significant volatility in our stock price and depending on the data, may result in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. If the development of any of our key late-stage product candidates is delayed or discontinued or a clinical study does not
meet one or more of its primary endpoints, our stock price could decline significantly and there may be an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We are focusing our efforts and resources in disease areas of high unmet need. With our more focused portfolio, investors are placing heightened scrutiny on some of our products or late-stage compounds. We have, however, experienced setbacks and may continue to do so as there are further developments in our clinical studies. For example, in October 2021, we announced that the Phase 2 LATTICE-UC study evaluating deucravacitinib, a first-in-class, oral, selective tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, compared to placebo in moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) did not meet the primary efficacy endpoint of clinical remission at Week 12, nor secondary efficacy endpoints. Additionally, we obtained many late-stage compounds as well as prioritized brand portfolio in hematology and immunology through our acquisition of Celgene that may not meet expectations.
The announcement of data from our clinical studies, or those of our competitors, or news of any developments related to our, or our competitors’, products or late-stage compounds, such as Opdivo, has and will continue to cause significant volatility in our stock price and, depending on the news, may result in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, the announcement of any negative or unexpected data or the discontinuation of development of any of our key late-stage product candidates, any delay in our anticipated timelines for filing for regulatory approval or a significant advancement of a competitor, has and will continue to cause our stock price to decline significantly and may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. There is no assurance that data from our clinical studies will support filings for regulatory approval, that our key product candidates may prove to be effective or as effective as other competing products, that, even if approved, any such products will become commercially successful for all approved indications, or that the indications of key products approved under the U.S. FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program that continued approval is contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials will be withdrawn.
Generic and biosimilar product manufacturers as well as other groups seeking financial gain are also increasingly seeking to challenge patents before they expire, and we could face earlier-than-expected competition for any products at any time. Patents covering our key products have been, and are likely to continue to be, subject to validity, enforceability and infringement challenges in patent litigations and post-grant review patent office proceedings. Although we are confident in the strength of our intellectual property rights, it may be possible for generic drug companies to successfully challenge our rights and launch their generic versions of our drugs prior to the expiration of our intellectual property rights. In addition, in order to avoid the uncertainty and expense of litigation, among other reasons, we may decide to enter into settlements with generic manufacturers that permit generic market entry prior to the expiration of our intellectual property rights. For example, we expect that some generic drug companies may market generic versions of Revlimid in the major European markets before the expiration of our intellectual property rights. In particular, as a result of patent settlements, we expect generic entry for Revlimid in the United Kingdom beginning on January 18, 2022, and in various other European countries where our Supplemental Protection Certificate is in force beginning on February 18, 2022. Similarly, in the U.S., following patent settlements, certain companies have been granted volume-limited licenses to sell generic lenalidomide in the U.S. commencing in March 2022 or thereafter.
In some cases, manufacturers may seek regulatory approval by submitting their own clinical study data to obtain marketing approval or choose to launch a generic product “at risk” before the expiration of the applicable patent(s) and/or before the final resolution of related patent litigation. In addition, some countries are allowing manufacturers to manufacture and sell
generic products, which negatively impacts the protections afforded the Company. Lower-priced generics or biosimilars for BMS biologic products or competing biologics could negatively impact our volumes and prices.
In addition, both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. FDA have taken steps to promote the development and approval of generic drugs and biosimilar biologics. For example, in December 2019, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation intended to facilitate generic companies’ access to drug samples. Section 610 of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, provides generic and biosimilar developers a private right of action to obtain sufficient quantities of drug samples from the reference product’s manufacturer in order to conduct testing necessary to obtain approval for generic or biosimilar products. This law has the potential to have an adverse impact on our business.
There is no assurance that a particular product will enjoy market exclusivity for the full time period that appears in the estimates disclosed in this 2021 Form 10-K or that we assume when we provide our financial guidance.
Certain novel approaches to the treatment of diseases, such as chimeric antigen receptor (“CAR”) T cell therapy, may present significant challenges and risks for us.
The development of novel approaches for the treatment of diseases, such as our acquisition in November 2019 of Celgene’s and Juno’s CAR T cell therapy programs, including Breyanzi (liso-cel) and Abecma (ide-cel), presents many new challenges and risks due to the unique nature of genetic modification of patient cells ex vivo using certain viruses to reengineer these cells to ultimately treat diseases, including obtaining regulatory approval from U.S. FDA and other regulatory agencies that have limited experience with the development of cellular therapies involving genetic modification of patient cells; developing and deploying consistent and reliable processes, while limiting contamination, for engineering a patient’s cells ex vivo and infusing genetically modified cells back into the patient; developing processes for the safe administration of cellular therapies, including long-term follow-up for patients receiving cellular therapies; and sourcing additional clinical and, if approved, commercial supplies for the materials used to manufacture and process our potential CAR T products. The use of reengineered cells as a potential cancer treatment is a recent development and may not be broadly accepted by the regulatory, patient or medical communities.
Further, we may not be able to satisfactorily establish the safety and efficacy or the reliability of these therapies through health authority approval, or demonstrate the potential advantages and side effects compared to existing and future therapies. Regulatory requirements governing gene and cell therapy products have changed frequently and may continue to change in the future. Furthermore, certain payment models could impact the financial feasibility of making CAR T cell therapies available in certain markets or by certain treatment sites, thereby limiting patient access. To date, only a few products that involve the genetic modification of patient cells have been approved for commercial sale. Moreover, the safety profiles of cellular therapies may adversely influence public perception and may adversely influence the willingness of subjects to participate in clinical trials, or if approved, of physicians and payers to subscribe to these novel treatment approaches. If we fail to overcome these and other challenges, or if significant adverse events are reported from similar therapies, our development of these novel treatment approaches may be hampered or delayed, which could adversely affect our future anticipated revenues and/or profitability related to these therapeutic programs. In addition, we could also face difficulties in manufacturing CAR T cell therapies, which could adversely affect our future anticipated revenues and/or profitability related to our CAR T cell therapies. See “—We could experience difficulties, delays and disruptions in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products.”
The future growth of BMS is dependent on the market access, uptake and expansion for marketed brands, new product introductions, new indications, product extensions and co-promotional activities with alliance partners. Competition is keen and as we lose exclusivity for some of our marketed brands lower-priced generic products will increasingly penetrate our markets. Generic challenges to our products can also arise at any time, and our patents may not prevent the emergence of generic competition for our products. For example, if we receive an adverse litigation decision in a country in the EU where our Eliquis composition of matter patents and related Supplementary Protection Certificates are being challenged (see “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 19. Legal Proceedings and Contingencies”), we may not be able to prevent generic apixaban products from being introduced in such country prior to our estimated minimum market exclusivity date. In some countries, patent protection is significantly weaker than in the United States or in the EU; political and social pressure has also pushed legislation and other measures that promote the use of generic and biosimilar products. In addition, we face competition from new products entering the market, particularly in IO. New products may have (i) lower prices, (ii) superior efficacy (benefit) or safety (risk) profiles (whether actual or perceived), (iii) technological advantages that may make such products more convenient to use, (iv) better insurance coverage or reimbursement levels, (v) more effective marketing programs and/or other differentiating factors that make it harder for our products to compete. We also face intense competition for external partnerships, joint ventures and acquisition targets that can help develop and bring new products to markets. Business combinations among our competitors and major third-party payers may increase competition
for our products. If we are unable to compete successfully against our competitors’ products in the marketplace, this could have a material negative impact on our revenues and earnings.
We could experience difficulties, delays and disruptions in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products.
Our product supply and related patient access has been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted by difficulties, delays and disruptions in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products. Some of the difficulties, delays and disruptions include: (i) product seizures or recalls or forced closings of manufacturing plants; (ii) our failure, or the failure of any of our vendors or suppliers, to comply with cGMP and other applicable regulations or quality assurance guidelines that could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages or delays in product manufacturing; (iii) manufacturing, quality assurance/quality control, supply problems or governmental approval delays; (iv) the failure of a supplier, including sole source or single source suppliers, to provide us with the necessary raw materials, supplies or finished goods within a reasonable timeframe and with required quality; (v) the failure of a third-party manufacturer to supply us with bulk active or finished product on time; (vi) construction or regulatory approval delays for new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities, including those intended to support future demand for our biologics products, such as Opdivo; (vii) the failure to meet new and emerging regulations requiring products to be tracked throughout the distribution channels using unique identifiers to verify their authenticity in the supply chain; (viii) other manufacturing or distribution issues, including limits to manufacturing capacity and changes in the types of products produced, such as biologics, physical limitations or other business interruptions; and (ix) disruptions in supply chain continuity, including from market forces (such as the recent stress on global logistics), natural disasters (such as hurricanes), global disease outbreaks (such as COVID-19), acts of war or terrorism or other unforeseeable or unavoidable events that materially impact one or more of our facilities or a critical supplier.
In addition, manufacturing processes for novel cell-based therapies, such as CAR T cell therapies, are still evolving, and our processes may be more complicated or more expensive than the approaches taken by our current and future competitors. Our ability to source raw materials and supplies used to manufacture our CAR T cell therapies and to develop consistent and reliable manufacturing processes and distribution networks with an attractive cost of goods could impact future anticipated revenue and gross profit for our CAR T cell therapies. Furthermore, we may face challenges with sourcing raw materials and supplies for clinical and, if approved, commercial manufacturing. Logistical and shipment delays and other factors not in our control could prevent or delay the delivery of our product candidates and marketed products to patients. Additionally, we are required to maintain a complex chain of identity and custody with respect to patient material as such material enters into and moves through the manufacturing process. As a result, even slight deviations at any point in the production process for our CAR T cell therapies or in material used in our CAR T cell therapies could result in loss of product or regulatory remedial action, which could adversely affect our future anticipated revenues and/or profitability related to our CAR T cell therapies.
We may encounter difficulties integrating ours and Celgene’s businesses and operations and, therefore, may not fully realize the projected benefits from our acquisition of Celgene.
The ultimate success of our acquisition of Celgene and our ability to realize the anticipated benefits from the acquisition, including the expected cost savings and avoidance from synergies, innovation opportunities and operational efficiencies, depends on, among other things, how effective we are in integrating the Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene operations, products and employees.
We are in the process of integrating a large number of manufacturing, operational and administrative systems to achieve consistency throughout the combined company, including with respect to human capital management, portfolio rationalization, finance and accounting systems, sales operations and product distribution, pricing systems and methodologies, cybersecurity systems, compliance programs and internal controls processes. This integration is a complex, costly and time-consuming process. If any difficulties in the integration of our operations were to occur, they could adversely affect our business, including, among other ways, causing a failure to meet demand for our products, or adversely affect our ability to meet our financial reporting obligations. Inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies may adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers, suppliers, distributors, alliance partners, creditors, clinical trial investigators and managers of our clinical trials.
Events outside our control, including changes in regulation and laws as well as economic trends, also could adversely affect our ability to realize the expected benefits from this acquisition.
We and certain of our subsidiaries are, and in the future may be, involved in various legal proceedings, including patent litigation, such as claims that our patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or do not cover the product of the generic drug manufacturer or where third parties seek damages and/or injunctive relief to compensate for alleged infringement of their
patents by our commercial or other activities. Resolving an intellectual property infringement claim can be costly and time consuming and may require us to enter into license agreements, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms. A successful claim of patent or other intellectual property infringement could subject us to significant damages or an injunction preventing the manufacture, sale, or use of the affected product or products. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and financial condition.
We are currently subject to a number of government laws and regulations and in the future, could become subject to new government laws and regulations. The costs of compliance with such laws and regulations, or the negative results of non-compliance, could adversely affect our business, our operating results and the financial condition of our Company. These laws and regulations control and regulate key aspects of our business including but not limited to (i) market access, pricing controls and discounting; (ii) tax liabilities, returns and payments;(iii) imports and other trade restrictions; (iv) intellectual property protection and enforcement; (v) good practice guidelines and regulations; (vi) accounting standards; (vii) data storage and privacy, particularly in the EU and the U.S.; (viii) requirements for reporting payments and other value transfers to healthcare professionals; and (ix) compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices of the U.S. and other countries.
In addition, the U.S. healthcare industry is highly regulated and subject to frequent and substantial changes, including as a result of new judicial or governmental decisions. For example, the U.S. FDA has indicated it is undertaking an industry-wide review of indications that received accelerated approval and for which the confirmatory studies did not meet their primary endpoints. This is not specific to the Company, but in December 2020, we announced that we withdrew Opdivo (nivolumab) indication for the treatment of patients with SCLC whose disease has progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other line of therapy, which had been granted as an accelerated approval in 2018. This action was taken in consultation with the U.S. FDA in accordance with its standard procedures for evaluating accelerated approvals that have not met their post-marketing requirements and as part of a broader industry-wide evaluation. Also, we anticipate continued U.S. congressional interest in modifying provisions of the Affordable Care Act, particularly given the ruling in Texas v. Azar to invalidate the law as unconstitutional. The revenues that we generate by the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act are not material, so the impact of the change in law and similar recent administration actions is expected to be limited. Any future replacement, modification or repeal of the Affordable Care Act may adversely affect our business and financial results, particularly if the legislation reduces incentives for employer-sponsored insurance coverage, and we cannot predict how other future federal or state legislative or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and various other countries globally. Changes in tax laws and regulations can and do occur. Most recently, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced the U.S. tax rate to 21% and introduced broad and complex changes resulting in numerous new regulations and interpretations. Significant judgment is required for determining the Company’s tax liabilities, and the Company’s tax returns are periodically examined by various tax authorities. We have faced, and may continue to face, audit challenges on how we apply a tax law or regulation. The ultimate resolution of any tax matters may result in payments greater or less than amounts accrued, which could have a negative impact on our provision for income taxes. In addition, our future earnings could be negatively impacted by further changes in tax legislation, including changes in tax rates and tax base such as limiting, phasing-out or eliminating deductions or tax credits, increase taxing of certain excess income from intellectual property, revising tax law interpretations in domestic or foreign jurisdictions, changes in rules for earnings repatriations and changes in other tax laws in the U.S. or other countries. Notably, in July and October 2021 OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework agreed on the general rules for redefined jurisdictional taxation rights and a global minimum tax. Further details regarding implementation of these rules are expected and if implemented could have a material impact on our tax provision and results of operations.
We rely on suppliers, vendors, outsourcing partners, alliance partners and other third parties to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, co-promote and sell our products, manage certain marketing, human resource, finance, IT, data and other business unit and functional services and meet their contractual, regulatory and other obligations. Using these third parties poses a number of risks, such as: (i) they may not perform to our standards or legal requirements, for example, in relation to the outsourcing of significant clinical development activities for innovative medicines to some contract research organizations; (ii) they may not produce reliable results; (iii) they may not perform in a timely manner; (iv) they may not maintain confidentiality of our proprietary information; (v) they may incur a significant cyberattack or business disruption; (vi) they may be subject to government orders or mandates that require them to give priority to the government and set aside pre-existing commercial orders; (vii) disputes may arise with respect to ownership of rights to technology developed with our partners; and (viii) disagreements could cause delays in, or termination of, the research, development or commercialization of the product or result in litigation or arbitration. Moreover, some third parties are located in markets subject to political and social risks, corruption, infrastructure problems and natural disasters, in addition to country specific privacy and data security risks given current legal and regulatory environments. The failure of any critical third party to meet its obligations, including for future royalty and milestone payments; to adequately deploy business continuity plans in the event of a crisis; and/or to satisfactorily resolve significant disagreements with us or address other factors, could have a material adverse impact on our operations and results. In addition, if these third parties violate, or are alleged to have violated, any laws or regulations, including the local pharmaceutical code, U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, UK Bribery Act, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, and other similar laws and regulations, during the performance of their obligations for us, it is possible that we could suffer financial and reputational harm or other negative outcomes, including possible legal consequences.
We or regulatory authorities may need to change the labeling for any pharmaceutical product, including after a product has been marketed for several years. These changes are often the result of additional data from post-marketing studies, head-to-head studies, adverse events reports, studies that identify biomarkers (objective characteristics that can indicate a particular response to a product or therapy) or other studies or post-marketing experience that produce important additional information about a product. New information added to a product’s label can affect its risk-benefit profile, leading to potential recalls, withdrawals or declining revenue, as well as product liability claims. Sometimes additional information from these studies identifies a portion of the patient population that may be non-responsive to a medicine or would be at higher risk of adverse reactions and labeling changes based on such studies may limit the patient population. The studies providing such additional information may be sponsored by us, but they could also be sponsored by competitors, insurance companies, government institutions, MCOs, scientists, investigators or other interested parties. While additional safety and efficacy information from such studies assist us and healthcare providers in identifying the best patient population for each product, it can also negatively impact our revenues due to inventory returns and a more limited patient population going forward. Additionally, certain study results, especially from head-to-head studies, could affect a product’s formulary listing, which could also adversely affect revenues.
Increased use of social media platforms present risks and challenges.
We are increasing our use of social media to communicate Company news and events. The inappropriate and/or unauthorized use of certain media vehicles could cause brand damage or information leakage or could lead to legal implications, including from the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information from employees, patients, healthcare professionals or other stakeholders. In addition, negative or inaccurate posts or comments
about us on any social networking website could damage our reputation, brand image and goodwill. Further, the disclosure of non-public Company-sensitive information by our workforce or others, whether intentional or unintentional, through external media channels could lead to information loss.
We rely extensively on information technology systems, networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools, physical security systems and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted provided and/or used for third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. A significant breakdown, invasion, corruption, destruction or interruption of critical information technology systems or infrastructure, by our workforce, others with authorized access to our systems or unauthorized persons could negatively impact operations. The ever-increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing, creates opportunities for the unintentional dissemination or intentional destruction or modification of confidential information stored in our, or our third-party providers’ systems, portable media or storage devices. We could also experience a business interruption, theft of confidential information or reputational damage from industrial espionage attacks, malware or other cyber-attacks, which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage, either internally or at our third-party providers. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress, we have observed an increase in cybersecurity incidents across the industry, predominantly ransomware and social engineering attacks. Further, government entities have also been the subject of cyberattacks. As the cyber-threat landscape evolves, these attacks are growing in frequency, sophistication and intensity, and due to the nature of some of these attacks, there is also a risk that they may remain undetected for a period of time. Although the aggregate impact on our operations and financial condition has not been material to date, we have been the target of cyber-attacks and expect them to continue as cybersecurity threats have been rapidly evolving in sophistication and becoming more prevalent in the industry. We have invested in industry appropriate protections and monitoring practices of our data and IT to reduce these risks and continue to monitor our systems on an ongoing basis for any current or potential threats. While we maintain cyber insurance, this insurance may not, however, be sufficient to cover the financial, legal, business or reputational losses that may result from an interruption or breach of our systems. There can be no assurance that our continuing efforts will prevent breakdowns or breaches to our or our third-party providers’ databases or systems that could adversely affect our business.
Failure to execute our business strategy could adversely impact our growth and profitability.
Our strategy is focused on delivering innovative, transformational medicines to patients in a focused set of disease areas. If we are unable to successfully execute on this strategy, this could negatively impact our future results of operations and market capitalization. In connection with this strategy, we are in the process of integrating Celgene and MyoKardia and our ability to successfully integrate Celgene and MyoKardia could impact our results of operations. If we are not able to achieve the cost savings that we expect, this could negatively impact our operating margin and earnings results. In addition, we may be unable to consistently maintain an adequate pipeline, through internal R&D programs or transactions with third parties, to support future revenue growth. Competition among pharmaceutical companies for acquisition and product licensing opportunities is intense, and we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition targets or licensing partners at reasonable prices, or successfully execute such transactions. If we are unable to support and grow our marketed products, successfully execute the launches of newly approved products, advance our late-stage pipeline, manage change from our operating model evolution or manage our costs effectively, our operating results and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
We derive a majority of our revenue and earnings from several key products. We expect that Revlimid, Eliquis, and Opdivo will represent a significant percentage of our revenue, earnings and cash flows during the next few years. A reduction in revenue from any of these products could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows. Also, if one of our major products were to become subject to issues such as loss of patent protection, significant changes in demand, formulary access changes, material product liability, unexpected side effects, regulatory proceedings, negative publicity, supply disruption from our manufacturing operations or third-party supplier or a significant advancement of competing products, we may incur an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or trading price of our stock.
We have entered into several arrangements which entitle us to potential royalties from third parties for out-licensed intellectual property, commercialization rights and sales-based contingent proceeds related to the divestiture of businesses. In many of these arrangements we have minimal, if any, continuing involvement that contribute to the financial success of those activities. Royalties have continued to represent a significant percentage of our pretax income, including royalties
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related to the divestiture of our diabetes business (including the transfer of certain future royalty rights pertaining to Amylin, Onglyza* and Farxiga* product sales), out-licensed intellectual property and the Merck patent infringement settlement. Pretax income generated from royalties was approximately $1.9 billion in 2021. Our pretax income could be adversely affected if the royalty streams decline in future periods.
Failure to effectively manage acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio actions could adversely impact our future results. In addition, any businesses or assets that we acquire in the future may underperform, we may not be able to successfully integrate them into our existing business and the occurrence of a number of unexpected factors could prevent or substantially delay the consummation of an anticipated acquisition, divestiture or merger.
We have acquired, or in-licensed, a number of assets and we expect to continue to support our pipeline with compounds or products obtained through licensing and acquisitions. Future revenues, profits and cash flows of an acquired company’s products, technologies and pipeline candidates may not materialize due to low product uptake, delayed or missed pipeline opportunities, the inability to capture expected synergies resulting from cost savings and avoidance, increased competition, safety concerns, regulatory issues, supply chain problems or other factors beyond our control. Substantial difficulties, costs and delays could result from integrating our acquisitions, including for (i) R&D, manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing, promotion and information technology activities; (ii) policies, procedures, processes, controls and compliance; and (iii) tax considerations. Where we acquire debt or equity securities as all or part of the consideration for business development activities, such as in connection with a joint venture or acquisition, the value of those securities will fluctuate and may depreciate in value. We may not control the company in which we acquire securities, such as in connection with a collaborative arrangement, and as a result, we will have limited ability to determine its management, operational decisions, internal controls and compliance and other policies, which can result in additional financial and reputational risks.
We may not be successful in separating underperforming or non-strategic assets, and gains or losses on the divestiture of, or lost operating income from, such assets may affect our earnings. Our divestitures also may result in continued financial exposure to the divested businesses, such as through guarantees or other financial arrangements, continued supply and services arrangements, or potential litigation, following the transaction. Under these arrangements, nonperformance by us could result in obligations being imposed on us that could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, cash flows, results of operations, financial condition or reputation. In particular, we divested Otezla* in connection with obtaining regulatory approval for our acquisition of Celgene. If the FTC determines that we violated the consent order that we agreed to in connection with the divestiture, the FTC may seek a civil penalty and our reputation may be adversely affected.
If the execution or implementation of acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio actions is not successful, it could adversely impact our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Moreover, due to the substantial amount of debt that we incurred to finance the cash portion of the Celgene and MyoKardia acquisitions, there can be no assurance of when we will be able to expand our business development capacity. Although we are committed to reducing our debt, pursuing strategic transaction opportunities in future may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, and could result in increased leverage and/or a downgrade of our credit ratings.
Our success is largely dependent on our continued ability to (i) attract and retain highly qualified scientific, technical and management workforce, including people with expertise in clinical R&D, governmental regulation and commercialization, and (ii) in connection with our Celgene acquisition, integrate two unique corporate cultures and maintain employee morale. We are facing increasing competition for a limited pool of qualified individuals from numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, government entities, research institutions, companies seeking to enter the healthcare space, and companies in other industries. We cannot be sure that we will be able to retain quality talent or that the costs of doing so will not materially increase.
Our significant additional indebtedness that we incurred in connection with the Celgene and MyoKardia acquisitions could have negative consequences.
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Adverse changes in U.S. and global economic and political conditions could adversely affect our profitability.
Global economic and political risks pose significant challenges to a company’s growth and profitability and are difficult to mitigate. We generated approximately 37% of our revenues outside of the U.S. in 2021. As such, our revenues, earnings and cash flow are exposed to risk from a strengthening U.S. dollar and inflation in the U.S. For instance, if inflation or other factors were to significantly increase our business costs, it could adversely affect our revenues and profitability. We also have exposure to customer credit risks in Europe, South America and other markets including from government-guaranteed hospital receivables in markets where payments are not received on time. We have significant operations in Europe, including for manufacturing and distribution. The results of our operations could be negatively impacted by any member country exiting the eurozone monetary union or EU. In particular, the exit of the UK from the EU, which occurred on January 31, 2020, has created uncertainties affecting our business operations in the UK and the EU and may have an impact on our research, commercial and general business operations in the UK and the EU, including the approval and supply of our products and may require changes to our legal entity structure in the UK and the EU. In addition, there is currently uncertainty around the phase out of LIBOR. In July 2017, the United Kingdom regulator that regulates LIBOR announced its intention to phase out LIBOR rates by the end of 2021. However, in March 2021, the ICE Benchmark Administration, in its capacity as administrator of USD-LIBOR, announced that it intends to extend publication of USD LIBOR (other than one-week and two-month tenors) until June 30, 2023. Notwithstanding this extension, a joint statement by key regulatory authorities called on banks to cease entering into new contracts that use USD-LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable, but no later than December 31, 2021. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, has proposed replacing USD-LIBOR with a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements - the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). At this time, no consensus exists as to what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives to LIBOR, and it is impossible to predict whether and to what extent banks will continue to provide LIBOR submissions to the administrator of LIBOR and whether one-month, three-month, six‑month, and twelve-month USD LIBOR rates will continue to be published until June 2023. We have issued variable rate debt based on LIBOR and have undertook interest rate swaps that contain a variable element based on LIBOR. We have also entered into certain agreements and have amended certain other agreements to rely on SOFR as an alternative interest rate method to LIBOR and we cannot predict what the impact of these agreements and amendments and SOFR could have on us. Although SOFR appears to be the preferred replacement rate for USD LIBOR at this time, if the financial market coalesces around an alternative benchmark rate method to LIBOR that is different than SOFR, we may need to renegotiate these agreements and may be negatively impacted by the renegotiated terms, which may adversely affect our interest rates and result in higher borrowing costs that we cannot predict. In addition, the phase out or replacement of LIBOR could cause disruptions in the credit markets that leads to a downgrade of our current credit rating, which could increase our future borrowing costs and our cost of capital, impair our ability to access capital and credit markets on terms commercially acceptable to us and adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources.
Finally, our business and operations may be adversely affected by political volatility, conflicts or crises in individual countries or regions, including terrorist activities or war.
The declaration, amount and timing of any dividends fall within the discretion of our Board of Directors. The Board’s decision will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, debt service obligations, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. A reduction or elimination of our dividend payments or dividend program could adversely affect our stock price. In addition, we could, at any time, decide not to buy back any more shares in the market, which could also adversely affect our stock price.
Our amended bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (iii) action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended bylaws or (iv) action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided, however, that, in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding will be another state or federal court of the State of Delaware. Our bylaws also provide that any person or
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entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and consented to this forum selection provision.
General Risks
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our business and could have a material adverse effect on us.
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting how we operate our business. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, international, federal, state and local public health and governmental authorities have taken, and continue to take, a number of actions to limit the spread of COVID-19 and address related disruptions in the U.S. and global economy. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen changes in demand for some of our products driven by lower patient starts and visits. However, while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our revenues, our results of operations have thus far not been significantly impacted. If the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic extends beyond our assumed timelines, our results may be worse than expected. The full extent of the impact will depend on future developments such as the ultimate duration and the severity of the spread of COVID-19 and any variant strains in the U.S. and globally, the effectiveness and outreach of vaccines, the effectiveness of federal, state, local and international governments’ mitigation actions, the pandemic’s impact on the U.S. and global economies, changes in the behavior of patients and medical professionals, the timing for resumption to our normal operations, as well as developments affecting healthcare and the delivery of medicines to patients.
While we have not experienced any significant manufacturing or supply issues due to COVID-19, it is possible that we could experience these issues in the future, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations. For instance, we may experience scarcity of certain raw materials and components as a result of the influx of COVID-19 vaccine orders receiving priority treatment from vendors. Similarly, highly contagious variants of COVID-19 could create material staffing shortages at our manufacturing sites which could disrupt the supply of our products. It is also possible that we may experience supply chain interruptions as a result of quarantines, shelter-in-place and other governmental orders and policies, travel restrictions, airline and cargo capacity and route reductions. In addition, if a natural disaster or other potentially disruptive event occurs on top of the current pandemic, it could deplete our safety stock levels and we could experience a manufacturing, supply or distribution issue.
We have restarted in-person interactions by our customer-facing (field) personnel in health care settings in the U.S. and a number of other markets. If we determine that it is no longer safe to engage in these in-person interactions, we will likely return to a remote model of engagement. This transition could have a negative impact on our business. It is also possible that there could be a longer-lasting shift in interactions between field personnel and health care professionals that we have not anticipated, which could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.
In addition, while the impact of COVID-19 on enrollment in our clinical trials stabilized in 2021, we can continue to experience delays in the initiation and enrollment of patients in our clinical trials due to new variants of COVID-19. We may not be able to fully mitigate these delays, which could negatively impact the timing of our pipeline development programs and expected future revenues and/or cash flows. In addition, we could experience additional delays or difficulties enrolling
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patients in clinical trials and/or delays or difficulties with our ongoing, fully enrolled clinical trials, which could further negatively impact the timing of our pipeline development programs and expected future revenues and/or cash flows. A prolonged clinical trial delay could potentially have a significant negative effect on our business, particularly if new competitive products enter the market or clinical trial results for our competitors’ products affect the value proposition for our product. Any such delays or difficulties in clinical development could also potentially lead to a material impairment of our intangible assets, including the approximately $42.5 billion of intangible assets as of December 31, 2021. In addition, although research and early development activities performed in laboratories have resumed, they were suspended for a period of time, which negatively impacted the advancement of early pipeline assets. We have plans to mitigate this impact, but if we are not be able to fully mitigate it, the breadth of our future pipeline opportunities could be adversely affected.
We cannot predict or reasonably estimate the impact of any potential long-term changes to the healthcare industry from COVID-19. For example, there is potential for a shift in the U.S. payer channel mix due to changes in patient coverage from the current economic crisis, but we are not able to reliably estimate what the impact would be on our results of operations given the highly variable and uncertain situation. It is also possible that changes in the healthcare system could impose additional burdens on clinical trials, which could increase the costs of sponsoring clinical trials or lead to additional delays or difficulties with completing clinical trials. We may also experience additional pricing pressures and/or increased governmental regulation.
We could face additional risks from the impact of COVID-19 on our suppliers, vendors, outsourcing partners, alliance partners and other third parties that we rely on to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, co-promote and sell our products, manage certain marketing, selling, human resource, finance, IT and other business unit and functional services. For example, if any of our third-party providers suffer from limited solvency because of the pandemic, it could negatively impact our operating model and our business. It is not possible to estimate the potential impact at this time.
The COVID-19 pandemic also increased the volatility of the financial markets, foreign currency exchanges and interest rates. In addition, we are facing and could continue to face potential other negative consequences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to increased cyber threats to us and our partners such as phishing, social engineering and malware attacks, delays in planned integration milestones and ability to collect our receivables. It is possible that COVID-19 could exacerbate any of the other risks described in this 2021 Form 10-K as well.
At this time, we cannot predict the full extent of the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows.
Current §1A text (2022)
Show full section (8463 words)
Item 1A.RISK FACTORS.
Any of the risks and uncertainties described below could significantly and negatively affect our business operations, financial condition, operating results (including components of our financial results), cash flows, prospects, reputation or credit ratings now and in the future, which could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline significantly. Additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us, or risks that we currently consider immaterial, could also impair our business operations, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. The following discussion of risk factors contains “forward-looking” statements, as discussed in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Product, Industry and Operational Risks
Increased pricing pressure and other restrictions in the U.S. and abroad continue to negatively affect our revenues and profit margins.
Our products continue to be subject to increasing pressures across the portfolio from pharmaceutical market access and pricing controls, required rebates and other discounts, in the U.S., the EU and other regions around the world that result in lower prices, lower reimbursement rates and smaller populations for whom payers will reimburse. We expect that these market access constraints, pricing controls and discounting and other restrictions will become more acute as public and private payers continue to take aggressive steps to control their expenditures. Our future revenues and profit margins could be negatively affected, including as a result of (i) changes in laws and regulations relating to the pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products (including potential penalties for increasing prices over the rate of inflation, new discounts to fund a redesign of the Medicare Part D benefit, government negotiations/price controls that may establish a maximum allowed price/reimbursement rate), as well as other changes relating to federal healthcare programs, such as modifying the federal Anti-Kickback statute discount safe harbor and the IRA, which includes a number of provisions intended to lower the costs of some drugs covered under Medicare Part D and Medicare Part B and to limit Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare Part D benefit, (ii) cost-cutting measures by federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, MCOs and other institutional and governmental purchasers, (iii) the grant of additional authority to governmental agencies to manage drug utilization and negotiate drug prices (including the implementation of the 2020 regulation issued by the U.S. federal government authorizing states and private parties to develop and implement programs to import certain prescription drugs from Canada and sell them in the U.S., and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which eliminates the Medicaid Prescription Drug Rebate cap starting January 1, 2024), (iv) expanded utilization under the 340B Drug Pricing Program ("340B program"), (v) competition related to placements on applicable commercial and Medicare Part D formularies; (vi) changes to U.S. federal pharmaceutical coverage and reimbursement policies and practices, (vii) the increased scrutiny of drug manufacturers (including any additional review of BMS or Celgene by the House Oversight and Reform Committee), (viii) reimbursement delays, (ix) government price erosion mechanisms across Europe and in other countries resulting in deflation for pharmaceutical product pricing, (x) the increased purchasing power of entities that negotiate on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid and private sector beneficiaries, (xi) collection delays or failures to pay in government-funded public hospitals outside the U.S., (xii) developments in technology and/or industry practices that could impact the reimbursement policies and practices of third-party payers, and (xiii) inhibited market access due to real or perceived differences in value propositions for our products compared to competing products.
Additionally, manufacturers who are found to have knowingly and intentionally overcharged 340B program covered entities could be subject to significant monetary penalties. Over the course of the past few years, Celgene had received inquiries from Human Resources and Services Administration regarding the limited distribution networks for Revlimid, Pomalyst, and Thalomid and compliance with the 340B program. As part of our broader integration strategy and alignment of our distribution model (post our acquisition of Celgene Corporation) we had announced that beginning March 1, 2022, we would recognize up to two designated 340B program contract pharmacy locations per 340B program hospital that lacks an entity-owned pharmacy. Although we believe that we have complied with, and continue to comply with, all applicable legal requirements, additional legal or legislative changes with respect to the 340B program may cause us to update our approach. Significant changes to our sales or pricing practices with regard to the distribution of drugs under the 340B program, or any material changes in our U.S. payer channel mix, could have an adverse effect on our revenues and profitability. In addition, if we are required to pay penalties under the applicable regulations, there would be an adverse effect on our revenues and profitability. For additional information on pricing pressures and other constraints, refer to “Item 1. Business—Pricing, Price Constraints and Market Access.”
We may experience difficulties or delays in the development and commercialization of new products. Our ability to replace revenue from products that lose patent protection is directly dependent on our ability to successfully commercialize new products in a timely manner.
As is common in the pharmaceutical industry, BMS expects that sales of its key brand products like Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane will decline after the loss of market exclusivity for such products. Consequently, our future success is highly dependent on our pipeline of new products. There is a high rate of failure inherent in the research and development process for new drugs. As a
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result, there is a high risk that funds we invest in research programs will not generate financial returns. Compounds or products may appear promising in development but fail to reach market within the expected or optimal timeframe, or at all. We have experienced setbacks and may continue to do so.
In addition, product extensions or additional indications may not be approved. Furthermore, products or indications approved under the U.S. FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory studies and such studies may not be successful.
Developing and commercializing new compounds and products involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including (i) efficacy and safety concerns or findings of superior safety or efficacy of competing products; (ii) delayed or denied regulatory approvals, including as a result of difficulties in enrolling patients and completing clinical trials in a timely manner; (iii) delays or challenges with producing products on a commercial scale or excessive costs to manufacture products; (iv) failure to enter into or implement optimal alliances for the development and/or commercialization of new products; (v) changes in regulatory approval processes and policies which may cause delays or denials of new product approvals; (vi) preclusion from commercialization due to intellectual property issues or disputes with third parties; (vii) failure in certain markets to obtain reimbursement commensurate with the level of innovation and clinical benefit presented by the product; and (viii) changing clinical preferences, changing industry standards, laws and regulations, or competitors’ innovations, each of which may render new products or enhancements to existing products obsolete.
We are also unable to predict if and when any changes to laws or regulatory policies will occur and how they will affect our business and particularly our pipeline of new products.
Regulatory approval delays are especially common when a product is expected to have a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy ("REMS") program, as required by the U.S. FDA to address significant risk/benefit issues, and we expect that certain of our future key products will be distributed in the U.S. primarily through a REMS program. The inability to bring a product to market or a significant delay in the expected approval and related launch date of a new product could negatively impact our revenues and earnings. In addition, if certain acquired pipeline programs are canceled or we believe their commercial prospects have been reduced, we may recognize material non-cash impairment charges for those programs. Finally, losing key molecules and intermediaries or our compound library through a natural or man-made disaster or act of sabotage could negatively impact the product development cycle.
We can provide no assurance when or whether any of our products under development will be approved or launched or whether any products, once launched, will be commercially successful. The public announcement of data from our clinical studies, or those of our competitors, or news of any developments related to our, or our competitors’, products or late-stage compounds may cause significant volatility in our stock price and depending on the data, may result in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. If the development of any of our key late-stage product candidates is delayed or discontinued or a clinical study does not meet one or more of its primary endpoints, our stock price could decline significantly and there may be an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We must maintain a continuous flow of successful new products and successful new indications for existing products sufficient both to cover our substantial research and development costs and to replace sales that are lost as profitable products lose market exclusivity or are displaced by competing products or therapies. Failure to do so in the short-term or long-term can have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flow, financial condition and prospects. There can be no assurance that our key product candidates would prove to be safe and effective or as safe and effective as other competing products, or that, even if approved, any such products will become commercially successful for all approved indications.
We could lose market exclusivity of a product earlier than expected.
In the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, the majority of an innovative product’s commercial value is realized during its market exclusivity period. In the U.S. and in some other countries, when market exclusivity expires and generic versions are approved and marketed or when biosimilars are introduced (even if only for a competing product), there are usually very substantial and rapid declines in a product’s revenues.
Market exclusivity for our products is based upon patent rights and certain regulatory forms of exclusivity. The scope of our patent rights, if any, varies from country to country and may also be dependent on the availability of meaningful legal remedies in a country. The failure to obtain or maintain patent and other intellectual property rights, or limitations on the use or loss of such rights, could result in a rapid loss of sales for any affected products which could be material to us. In some countries, including certain EU member states, basic patent protections for our products may not exist because certain countries did not historically offer the right to obtain specific types of patents and/or we (or our licensors) did not file in those countries. In addition, the patent environment can be unpredictable and the validity and enforceability of patents cannot be predicted with certainty. In addition, manufacturers of innovative drugs as well as generic drug manufacturers may be able to design their products around our owned or licensed patents and compete with us using the resulting alternative technology. Absent relevant patent protection for a product, once the data exclusivity period expires, generic or alternative versions can be approved and marketed.
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Generic and biosimilar product manufacturers as well as other groups seeking financial gain are also increasingly seeking to challenge patents before they expire, and we could face earlier-than-expected competition for any products at any time. Patents covering our key products have been, and are likely to continue to be, subject to validity, enforceability and infringement challenges in patent litigations and post-grant review patent office proceedings. Although we are confident in the strength of our intellectual property rights, it may be possible for generic drug companies to successfully challenge our rights and launch their generic versions of our drugs prior to the expiration of our intellectual property rights. For example, following certain adverse judicial decisions in the UK and the Netherlands, generic manufacturers have begun marketing generic versions of Eliquis in the UK and Netherlands, and may seek to market generic versions of Eliquis in additional countries in Europe, prior to the expiration of our patents, which may lead to additional infringement and invalidity actions involving Eliquis patents being filed in various countries in Europe. In addition, in order to avoid the uncertainty and expense of litigation, among other reasons, we may decide to enter into settlements with generic manufacturers that permit generic market entry prior to the expiration of our intellectual property rights. For example, as a result of patent settlements, generic entry for Revlimid in the United Kingdom began on January 18, 2022, and in various other European countries on February 18, 2022. Similarly, in the U.S., following patent settlements, certain companies were granted volume-limited licenses to sell generic lenalidomide in the U.S. commencing in March 2022 or thereafter.
In some cases, manufacturers may seek regulatory approval by submitting their own clinical study data to obtain marketing approval or choose to launch a generic product “at risk” before the expiration of the applicable patent(s) and/or before the final resolution of related patent litigation. In addition, some countries are allowing manufacturers to manufacture and sell generic products, which negatively impacts the protections afforded the Company. Lower-priced generics or biosimilars for BMS biologic products or competing biologics could negatively impact our volumes and prices.
In addition, both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. FDA have taken steps to promote the development and approval of generic drugs and biosimilar biologics, including by providing generic and biosimilar developers a private right of action to obtain sufficient quantities of drug samples from the reference product’s manufacturer in order to conduct testing necessary to obtain approval for generic or biosimilar products.
There is no assurance that a particular product will enjoy market exclusivity for the full time period that appears in the estimates disclosed in this 2022 Form 10-K or that we assume when we provide our financial guidance.
We face intense competition from other manufacturers and expect to see increasing market penetration of lower-priced generic products.
The future growth of BMS is dependent on the market access, uptake and expansion for marketed brands, new product introductions, new indications, product extensions and co-promotional activities with alliance partners. Competition is keen and as we lose exclusivity for some of our marketed brands lower-priced generic products will increasingly penetrate our markets. Generic challenges to our products can also arise at any time, and our patents may not prevent the emergence of generic competition for our products. In some countries, patent protection is significantly weaker than in the United States or in the EU; political and social pressure has also pushed legislation and other measures that promote the use of generic and biosimilar products. For additional information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—We could lose market exclusivity of a product earlier than expected.”
In addition, we face competition from new products entering the market, particularly in IO. New products may have (i) lower prices, (ii) superior efficacy (benefit) or safety (risk) profiles (whether actual or perceived), (iii) technological advantages that may make such products more convenient to use, (iv) better insurance coverage or reimbursement levels, (v) more effective marketing programs and/or other differentiating factors that make it harder for our products to compete. We cannot predict with accuracy the timing or impact of the introduction of competitive products that treat diseases and conditions like those treated by our products and product candidates. Business combinations among our competitors and major third-party payers may also increase competition for our products. If we are unable to compete successfully against our competitors’ products in the marketplace, this could have a material negative impact on our revenues and earnings.
We could experience difficulties, delays and disruptions in our supply chain as well as in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products.
Our product supply and related patient access has been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted by difficulties, delays and disruptions in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of our products. Some of the difficulties, delays and disruptions include: (i) product seizures or recalls or forced closings of manufacturing plants; (ii) our failure, or the failure of any of our vendors or suppliers, to comply with cGMP and other applicable regulations or quality assurance guidelines that could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages or delays in product manufacturing; (iii) manufacturing, quality assurance/quality control, supply problems or governmental approval delays; (iv) the failure of a supplier, including sole source or single source suppliers, to provide us with the necessary raw materials, supplies or finished goods within a reasonable timeframe and with required quality; (v) the failure of a third-party manufacturer to supply us with bulk active or finished product on time; (vi) construction or regulatory approval delays for new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities, including those intended to support future demand for our
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biologics products, such as Opdivo; (vii) the failure to meet new and emerging regulations requiring products to be tracked throughout the distribution channels using unique identifiers to verify their authenticity in the supply chain; (viii) other manufacturing or distribution issues, including limits to manufacturing capacity and changes in the types of products produced, such as biologics, physical limitations or other business interruptions; and (ix) disruptions in supply chain continuity, including from market forces (such as the recent stress on global logistics), natural disasters, global disease outbreaks or pandemics (including COVID-19), acts of war or terrorism or other unforeseeable or unavoidable events that materially impact one or more of our facilities or a critical supplier.
In addition, manufacturing processes for novel cell-based therapies, such as CAR-T cell therapies, are still evolving, and our processes may be more complicated or more expensive than the approaches taken by our current and future competitors. Our ability to source raw materials and supplies used to manufacture our CAR-T cell therapies and to develop consistent and reliable manufacturing processes and distribution networks with an attractive cost of goods could impact future anticipated revenue and gross profit for our CAR-T cell therapies. Furthermore, we may face challenges with sourcing raw materials and supplies for clinical and, if approved, commercial manufacturing. Logistical and shipment delays and other factors not in our control could prevent or delay the delivery of our product candidates and marketed products to patients. Additionally, we are required to maintain a complex chain of identity and custody with respect to patient material as such material enters into and moves through the manufacturing process. As a result, even slight deviations at any point in the production process for our CAR-T cell therapies or in material used in our CAR-T cell therapies could result in loss of product or regulatory remedial action, which could adversely affect our future anticipated revenues and/or profitability related to our CAR-T cell therapies.
Regulatory, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Tax and Legal Compliance Risks
Litigation claiming infringement of intellectual property may adversely affect our future revenues and operating earnings.
We and certain of our subsidiaries are, and in the future may be, involved in various legal proceedings, including patent litigation, such as claims that our patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or do not cover the product of the generic drug manufacturer or where third parties seek damages and/or injunctive relief to compensate for alleged infringement of their patents by our commercial or other activities. Resolving an intellectual property infringement claim can be costly and time consuming and may require us to enter into license agreements, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms. A successful claim of patent or other intellectual property infringement could subject us to significant damages and/or an injunction preventing the manufacture, sale, or use of the affected product or products. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and financial condition.
Adverse outcomes in legal matters could negatively affect our business.
Current or future lawsuits, claims, proceedings and government investigations could preclude or delay the commercialization of our products or could adversely affect our operations, profitability, liquidity or financial condition, after any possible insurance recoveries where available. Such legal matters include (i) intellectual property disputes; (ii) adverse decisions in litigation, including product safety and liability, consumer protection and commercial cases; (iii) anti-bribery regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or UK Bribery Act, including compliance with ongoing reporting obligations to the government resulting from any settlements; (iv) recalls or withdrawals of pharmaceutical products or forced closings of manufacturing plants; (v) the alleged failure to fulfill obligations under supply contracts with the government and other customers or under other agreements relating to our business; (vi) product pricing and promotional matters; (vii) lawsuits and claims asserting, or investigations into, violations of securities, antitrust, Federal and state pricing, consumer protection, data privacy and other laws and regulations; (viii) environmental, health, safety and sustainability matters, including regulatory actions in response to climate change; and (ix) tax liabilities resulting from assessments from tax authorities.
We are subject to a variety of U.S. and international laws and regulations.
We are currently subject to a number of government laws and regulations and, in the future, could become subject to new government laws and regulations. The costs of compliance with such laws and regulations, or the negative results of non-compliance, could adversely affect our business, our operating results and the financial condition of our Company. These laws and regulations control and regulate key aspects of our business including but not limited to (i) market access, pricing controls and discounting; (ii) tax liabilities, returns and payments; (iii) imports and other trade restrictions; (iv) intellectual property protection and enforcement; (v) good practice guidelines and regulations; (vi) accounting standards; (vii) data storage and privacy, particularly in the EU and the U.S.; (viii) requirements for reporting payments and other value transfers to healthcare professionals (such as those provided under the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute); and (ix) compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices of the U.S. and other countries.
In addition, the U.S. healthcare industry is highly regulated and subject to frequent and substantial changes, including as a result of new judicial or governmental decisions. For example, the U.S. FDA has indicated it is undertaking an industry-wide review of indications that received accelerated approval and for which the confirmatory studies did not meet their primary endpoints. Also, we anticipate continued U.S. congressional interest in modifying provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”), particularly given its numerous legal challenges (such as the California v. Texas case) and polarized public support. The
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revenues that we generate by the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion under the ACA are not material, so the impact of the change in law and similar recent administration actions is expected to be limited. Any future replacement, modification or repeal of the ACA may adversely affect our business and financial results, particularly if the legislation reduces incentives for employer-sponsored insurance coverage. We cannot predict how other future federal or state legislative or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business. For additional information, refer to “Item 1. Business—Government Regulation” and “Item 1. Business—Pricing, Price Constraints and Market Access.”
Changes to tax regulations could negatively impact our earnings.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and various other countries globally. Changes in tax laws and regulations can and do occur. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the "TCJA") reduced the U.S. tax rate to 21% and introduced broad and complex changes resulting in numerous new regulations and interpretations. Significant judgment is required for determining the Company’s tax liabilities, and the Company’s tax returns are periodically examined by various tax authorities. We have faced, and may continue to face, audit challenges on how we apply a tax law or regulation. The ultimate resolution of any tax matters may result in payments greater or less than amounts accrued, which could have a negative impact on our provision for income taxes. In addition, our future earnings could be negatively impacted by further changes in tax legislation, including changes in tax rates and tax base such as limiting, phasing-out or eliminating deductions or tax credits, increase taxing of certain excess income from intellectual property, revising tax law interpretations in domestic or foreign jurisdictions, changes in rules for earnings repatriations and changes in other tax laws in the U.S. or other countries. Notably, in July and October 2021 OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework agreed on the general rules for redefined jurisdictional taxation rights and a global minimum tax. In December 2022, the EU member states voted unanimously to adopt a Directive implementing the Pillar 2 (global minimum tax) rules giving member states until December 31, 2023 to implement the Directive into national legislation. Further details regarding implementation of these rules are expected and if implemented could have a material impact on our tax provision and results of operations.
The failure of third parties to meet their contractual, regulatory and other obligations could adversely affect our business.
We rely on suppliers, vendors, outsourcing partners, alliance partners and other third parties to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, co-promote and sell our products, manage certain marketing, human resource, finance, IT, data and other business unit and functional services and meet their contractual, regulatory and other obligations. Using these third parties poses a number of risks, such as: (i) they may not perform to our standards or legal requirements, for example, in relation to the outsourcing of significant clinical development activities for innovative medicines to some contract research organizations; (ii) they may not produce reliable results; (iii) they may not perform in a timely manner; (iv) they may not maintain confidentiality of our proprietary information; (v) they may incur a significant cyberattack or business disruption; (vi) they may be subject to government orders or mandates that require them to give priority to the government and set aside pre-existing commercial orders; (vii) disputes may arise with respect to ownership of rights to technology developed with our partners; and (viii) disagreements could cause delays in, or termination of, the research, development or commercialization of the product or result in litigation or arbitration. Moreover, some third parties are located in markets subject to political and social risks, corruption, infrastructure problems and natural disasters, in addition to country specific privacy and data security risks given current legal and regulatory environments. The failure of any critical third party to satisfactorily meet its obligations, including for future royalty and milestone payments; to adequately deploy business continuity plans in the event of a crisis; and/or to satisfactorily resolve significant disagreements with us or address other factors, could have a material adverse impact on our operations and results. In addition, if these third parties violate, or are alleged to have violated, any laws or regulations, including the local pharmaceutical code, U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, UK Bribery Act, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, and other similar laws and regulations, during the performance of their obligations for us, it is possible that we could suffer financial and reputational harm or other negative outcomes, including possible legal consequences.
Product labeling changes for our marketed products could result in a negative impact on revenues and profit margins.
Pharmaceutical products receive regulatory approval based on data obtained in controlled clinical trials of limited duration. Additional clinical trials, head-to-head studies, adverse events reports following the use of our products over longer periods of time and studies that identify biomarkers (objective characteristics that can indicate a particular response to a product or therapy) that are conducted after obtaining marketing approval for our products, and regulatory changes to standards regarding safety, efficacy or labeling, may result in product label changes or other measures that could reduce the product's market acceptance and result in declining revenues. Sometimes additional information from new studies identifies a portion of the patient population that may be non-responsive to a medicine or would be at higher risk of adverse reactions and labeling changes based on such studies may limit the patient population. The studies providing such additional information may be sponsored by us, but they could also be sponsored by competitors, insurance companies, government institutions, MCOs, scientists, investigators or other interested parties. While additional safety and efficacy information from such studies assist us and healthcare providers in identifying the best patient population for each product, it can also negatively impact our operating results. New information added to a product’s label can affect its risk-benefit profile, leading to potential voluntary or mandatory recalls, withdrawals or declining revenue, as well as product liability claims. Additionally, certain study results, especially from head-to-head studies, could affect a product’s formulary listing, which could also adversely affect revenues.
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In addition, if safety or efficacy concerns are raised about a third party's product in the same class as one of our products, those concerns could implicate the entire class and this, in turn, could have an adverse impact on the availability or commercial viability of our product(s) as well as other products in the class.
The illegal distribution and sale by third parties of counterfeit or unregistered versions of our products or stolen products could have a negative impact on our revenues, earnings, reputation and business.
Third parties may illegally distribute and sell counterfeit versions of our products, which do not meet our rigorous manufacturing and testing standards. A patient who receives a counterfeit drug or a product diverted from its authorized market may be at risk for a number of dangerous health consequences. Our reputation and business could suffer harm as a result of counterfeit drugs sold under our brand name or diverted products. The prevalence of counterfeit medicines is an industry-wide issue due to a variety of factors, including the adoption of e-commerce, which increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, greatly enhancing consumers’ ability to obtain prescriptions and other medical treatments via the internet in lieu of traditional brick and mortar pharmacies. The internet exposes patients to greater risk as it is a preferred vehicle for dangerous counterfeit offers and scams because of the anonymity it affords counterfeiters.
Thefts of inventory at warehouses, plants or while in-transit, which are then not properly stored and are later sold through unauthorized channels, could adversely impact patient safety, our reputation and our business. In addition, diversion of products from their authorized market into other channels may result in reduced revenues and negatively affect our profitability.
Increased use of social media platforms presents risks and challenges.
We are increasing our use of social media to communicate Company news and events. The inappropriate and/or unauthorized use of social media could cause brand damage or information leakage and may give rise to liability, including from the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information from employees, patients, healthcare professionals or other stakeholders. In addition, negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us on any social networking website could damage our reputation, brand image and goodwill and may cause significant volatility in our stock price. Further, the disclosure of non-public Company-sensitive information by our workforce or others, whether intentional or unintentional, through external media channels could lead to loss of trade secrets or other intellectual property, as well as the Company’s commercially sensitive information.
Information Technology and Cybersecurity Risks
We are dependent on information technology and our systems and infrastructure face certain risks, including from cybersecurity breaches and data leakage.
We rely extensively on information technology systems, networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools, physical security systems and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used for third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. A significant breakdown, invasion, corruption, destruction or interruption of critical information technology systems or infrastructure, by our workforce, others with authorized access to our systems or unauthorized persons could negatively impact operations. The ever-increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing, creates opportunities for the unintentional dissemination or intentional destruction or modification of confidential information stored in our, or our third-party providers’ systems, portable media or storage devices. We could also experience a business interruption, theft of confidential information or reputational damage from industrial espionage attacks, malware or other cyber-attacks, which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage, either internally or at our third-party providers. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, we observed an increase in cybersecurity incidents across the industry, predominantly ransomware and social engineering attacks. Further, government entities have also been the subject of cyberattacks. As the cyber-threat landscape evolves, these attacks are growing in frequency, sophistication and intensity, and due to the nature of some of these attacks, there is also a risk that they may remain undetected for a period of time. Although the aggregate impact of cybersecurity breaches and data leakage on our operations and financial condition have not been material to date, we have been the target of cyber-attacks and expect them to continue as cybersecurity threats have been rapidly evolving in sophistication and becoming more prevalent in the industry. We have invested in industry-appropriate protections and monitoring practices of our data and IT to reduce these risks and continue to monitor our systems on an ongoing basis for any current or potential threats. While we maintain cyber insurance, this insurance may not, however, be sufficient to cover the financial, legal, business or reputational losses that may result from an interruption or breach of our systems. There can be no assurance that our continuing efforts will prevent breakdowns or breaches to our or our third-party providers’ databases or systems that could adversely affect our business.
Strategic, Business Development and Employee Attraction and Retention Risks
We depend on several key products for most of our revenues, cash flows and earnings.
We derive a majority of our revenue and earnings from several key products. We expect that Revlimid, Eliquis, and Opdivo will represent a significant percentage of our revenue, earnings and cash flows during the next few years. A reduction in revenue from any
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of these products due to loss of market exclusivity or other factors could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows. For additional information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—We could lose market exclusivity of a product earlier than expected.”
Also, if one of our major products were to become subject to issues such as loss of patent protection, significant changes in demand, formulary access changes, material product liability, unexpected side effects, regulatory proceedings, negative publicity, supply disruption from our manufacturing operations or third-party supplier or a significant advancement of competing products, we may incur an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or the trading price of our stock.
Third-party royalties represent a significant percentage of our pretax income and operating cash flow.
We have entered into several arrangements which entitle us to potential royalties from third parties for out-licensed intellectual property, commercialization rights and sales-based contingent proceeds related to the divestiture of businesses. In many of these arrangements we have minimal, if any, continuing involvement that contribute to the financial success of those activities. Royalties have continued to represent a significant percentage of our pretax income, including royalties related to the divestiture of our diabetes business (including the transfer of certain future royalty rights pertaining to Amylin, Onglyza* and Farxiga* product sales), out-licensed intellectual property and the Merck patent infringement settlement. Pretax income generated from royalties was approximately $2.5 billion in 2022. Our pretax income could be adversely affected if the royalty streams decline in future periods.
Failure to execute our business strategy or to identify and effectively manage acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio actions could adversely impact our growth and profitability and our future results. In addition, any businesses or assets that we acquire in the future may underperform, we may not be able to successfully integrate them into our existing business and the occurrence of a number of unexpected factors could prevent or substantially delay the consummation of an anticipated acquisition, divestiture or merger.
Our strategy is focused on delivering innovative, transformational medicines to patients in a focused set of disease areas. To support future revenue growth and maintain an adequate pipeline, we have acquired, or in-licensed, a number of assets and we expect to continue to support our pipeline with compounds or products obtained through licensing and acquisitions. Competition among pharmaceutical companies for acquisition and product licensing opportunities is intense, and we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition targets or licensing partners at reasonable prices, or successfully execute such transactions. If we are unable to consistently maintain an adequate pipeline, whether through internal R&D programs or transactions with third parties or if we are unable to support and grow our marketed products, successfully execute the launches of newly approved products, advance our late-stage pipeline, manage change from our operating model evolution or manage our costs effectively, our operating results and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Additionally, future revenues, profits and cash flows of an acquired company’s products, technologies and pipeline candidates may not materialize due to low product uptake, delayed or missed pipeline opportunities, the inability to capture expected synergies resulting from cost savings and avoidance, increased competition, safety concerns, regulatory issues, supply chain problems or other factors beyond our control. Substantial difficulties, costs and delays could result from integrating our acquisitions, including for: (i) R&D, manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing, promotion and information technology activities; (ii) policies, procedures, processes, controls and compliance; and (iii) tax considerations.
Where we acquire debt or equity securities as all or part of the consideration for business development activities, such as in connection with a joint venture or acquisition, the value of those securities will fluctuate and may depreciate in value. We may not control the company in which we acquire securities, such as in connection with a collaborative arrangement, and as a result, we will have limited ability to determine its management, operational decisions, internal controls and compliance and other policies, which can result in additional financial and reputational risks.
We may not be successful in separating underperforming or non-strategic assets, and gains or losses on the divestiture of, or lost operating income from, such assets may affect our earnings. Our divestitures also may result in continued financial exposure to the divested businesses, such as through guarantees or other financial arrangements, continued supply and services arrangements, or potential litigation, following the transaction. Under these arrangements, nonperformance by us could result in obligations being imposed on us that could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, cash flows, results of operations, financial condition or reputation.
We might also incur asset impairment charges related to acquisitions or divestitures that reduce our earnings. The value allocated to certain of our assets could be substantially impaired due to a number of factors beyond our control. New or revised accounting standards, rules and interpretations could result in changes to the recognition of income and expense that may materially and adversely affect our financial results.
If the execution or implementation of acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures and other portfolio actions is not successful, it could adversely impact our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Moreover, due to the substantial amount of debt that we incurred to finance the cash portion of the Celgene and MyoKardia acquisitions, there can be no assurance of when we will be
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able to expand our business development capacity. Although we are committed to reducing our debt, pursuing strategic transaction opportunities in future may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, and could result in increased leverage and/or a downgrade of our credit ratings.
Failure to attract and retain highly qualified workforce could affect our ability to successfully develop and commercialize products.
Our success is largely dependent on our continued ability to (i) attract and retain highly qualified scientific, technical and management workforce, including people with expertise in clinical R&D, governmental regulation and commercialization, and (ii) in connection with our acquisitions, integrate corporate cultures and maintain employee morale. We are facing increasing competition for a limited pool of qualified individuals from numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, government entities, research institutions, companies seeking to enter the healthcare space, and companies in other industries. We cannot be sure that we will be able to retain quality talent or that the costs of doing so will not materially increase.
Market, Liquidity and Credit Risks
We have significant indebtedness that could have negative consequences.
Our acquisitions of Celgene and MyoKardia increased the amount of our debt resulting in additional interest expense. This could reduce our financial flexibility to continue capital investments, develop new products and declare future dividends.
Adverse changes in U.S. and global economic and political conditions could adversely affect our operations and profitability.
Global economic and political risks pose significant challenges to a company’s growth and profitability and are difficult to mitigate. We generated approximately 30% of our revenues outside of the U.S. in 2022. As such, a global economic downturn could create or amplify a variety of risks to our business and could negatively affect our growth. In addition, uncertainty in the credit and capital markets could impact our growth strategy. Our revenues, earnings and cash flow are also exposed to risk from a strengthening U.S. dollar and global inflation, including in the U.S. If our operating costs were to significantly increase, whether as a result of rising inflation rates, wage increases or other factors, it could adversely affect our revenues and profitability. We also have exposure to customer credit risks in Europe, South America and other markets including from government-guaranteed hospital receivables in markets where payments are not received on time. We have significant operations in Europe, including for manufacturing and distribution. The results of our operations could be negatively impacted by any member country exiting the eurozone monetary union or EU. In particular, the exit of the UK from the EU, which occurred on January 31, 2020, created uncertainties affecting our business operations in the UK and the EU and may have an impact on our research, commercial and general business operations in the UK and the EU, including the approval and supply of our products and may require changes to our legal entity structure in the UK and the EU.
Additionally, our business and operations may be adversely affected by political volatility, conflicts or crises in individual countries or regions, including terrorist activities or war and pandemics or epidemics. The COVID-19 pandemic affected demand for some of our products driven by lower patient starts and visits, and we would expect any future pandemics to have a similar effect. In addition, while we did not experience any significant manufacturing or supply issues due to COVID-19, it is possible that we could experience these issues in response to future pandemics. For instance, we may experience scarcity of certain raw materials and components as a result of the influx of pandemic related vaccine orders receiving priority treatment from vendors. Furthermore, a future epidemic or pandemic could create material staffing shortages at our manufacturing sites which could disrupt the supply of our products. It is also possible that we may experience supply chain interruptions as a result of quarantines, shelter-in-place and other governmental orders and policies, travel restrictions, airline and cargo capacity and route reductions. We may also experience delays in the initiation and enrollment of patients in our clinical trials as a consequence of any future pandemic. We may not be able to fully mitigate these delays, which could negatively impact the timing of our pipeline development programs and expected future revenues and/or cash flows. A prolonged clinical trial delay could potentially have a significant negative effect on our business, particularly if new competitive products enter the market or clinical trial results for our competitors’ products affect the value proposition for our product. Any such delays or difficulties in clinical development could also potentially lead to a material impairment of our intangible assets, including the $35.9 billion of intangible assets as of December 31, 2022.
We cannot predict or reasonably estimate the impact of any potential long-term changes to the healthcare industry from global economic and political events, including any future pandemics. For example, there is potential for a shift in the U.S. payer channel mix due to changes in patient coverage from the current economic crisis, but we are not able to reliably estimate what the impact would be on our results of operations given the highly variable and uncertain situation. It is also possible that changes in the healthcare system could impose additional burdens on clinical trials, which could increase the costs of sponsoring clinical trials or lead to additional delays or difficulties with completing clinical trials. We may also experience additional pricing pressures and/or increased governmental regulation.
Global economic conditions or events such as wars or pandemics also create additional risks from their impact on our suppliers, vendors, outsourcing partners, alliance partners and other third parties that we rely on to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, co-promote and sell our products, manage certain marketing, selling, human resource, finance, IT and other business
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unit and functional services. For example, if any of our third-party providers suffer from limited solvency because of global economic conditions, it could negatively impact our operating model and our business. Similarly, global events such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict can increase the volatility of the financial markets, foreign currency exchanges and interest rates. We could also face potential other negative consequences stemming from future pandemics or global events, including but not limited to increased cyber threats to us and our partners such as phishing, social engineering and malware attacks. It is possible that global economic and political events, including any future pandemic, could exacerbate any of the other risks described in this 2022 Form 10-K as well.
There can be no guarantee that we will pay dividends or repurchase stock.
The declaration, amount and timing of any dividends fall within the discretion of our Board. The Board’s decision will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, debt service obligations, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. A reduction or elimination of our dividend payments or dividend program could adversely affect our stock price. In addition, we could, at any time, decide not to buy back any more shares in the market, or reduce the number of shares repurchased under our share repurchase program, which could also adversely affect our stock price. The IRA imposes a 1% excise tax on our net repurchases of shares after December 31, 2022. The imposition of the excise tax on repurchases of our shares may increase the cost to us of making repurchases and may cause our Board to reduce the number of shares repurchased pursuant to our share repurchase program.
Our amended bylaws designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain lawsuits between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a judicial forum that it finds favorable for such lawsuits and make it more costly for our stockholders to bring such lawsuits, which may have the effect of discouraging such lawsuits.
Our amended bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (iii) action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended bylaws or (iv) action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided, however, that, in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding will be another state or federal court of the State of Delaware. Our bylaws also provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and consented to this forum selection provision.
The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another state or federal court of the State of Delaware) will have the fullest authority allowed by law to issue an anti-suit injunction to enforce this forum selection clause and to preclude suit in any other forum. However, this forum selection provision is not intended to apply to any actions brought under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), as amended, or the Exchange Act. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder and Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, the forum selection provision in our amended bylaws will not relieve us of our duties to comply with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, and our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with these laws, rules and regulations.
Nevertheless, this forum selection provision in our bylaws may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers and other employees, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. In addition, stockholders who do bring a claim in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware could face additional litigation costs in pursuing any such claim, particularly if they do not reside in or near Delaware. While we believe the risk of a court declining to enforce the forum selection provision contained in our amended bylaws is low, if a court were to find the provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.