Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY, Financial) rose 0.15% to $48 in after-hours trading on Tuesday on news the European Commission approved its Empliciti (elotuzumab) drug for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma.
These patients have been administered two or more prior therapies, including Celgene Corp.'s (CELG, Financial) Revlimid (lenalidomide) and a proteasome inhibitor. In addition, they showed signs of progression of the disease when treated with the last therapy.
According to the commission’s conditions, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Empliciti must be used jointly with Celgene’s Pomalyst (pomalidomide) and a low dose of dexamethasone corticosteroid medication.
The agency already approved Empliciti in a first regimen therapy to use along with lenalidomide and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma with the relapsed and refractory form of plasma cell cancer.
“Multiple myeloma is a frequently recurring disease and the chance it will return after initial treatment is a heavy burden for patients to carry,” Dr. Fouad Namouni, head of Oncology Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said. “We are proud that the European Commission has again recognized the role of Empliciti in helping European patients with multiple myeloma by approving a second Empliciti-based regimen in the relapsed and refractory setting.”
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration authorized Empliciti-Pomalidomide-Dexamethasone as a second regimen in the relapsed and refractory setting for the treatment of multiple myeloma patients in November 2018.
Empliciti is a key product in the vast portfolio of the Princeton, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company. In the second quarter, the drug generated $91 million in worldwide sales, which was up 42% year over year and represents 1.5% of total net product sales.
Bristol-Myers Squibb generated total revenue of nearly $6.3 billion for the quarter.
Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb closed at $47.9 on Tuesday for a market capitalization of $78.40 billion. The stock has lost 8% so far this year and the share price is currently above the 100- and 50-day simple moving average lines.
The price-earnings ratio is 12.61 versus the industry median of 19.14, the price-book ratio is 4.85 versus the industry median of 2.21 and the price-sales ratio is 3.29 versus the industry median of 2.49.
Wall Street issued an overweight recommendation rating with an average target price of $56.63.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
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