Innovation
Research and development (R&D)
R&D is critical to our long-term competitiveness. We concentrate our R&D efforts in the following disease areas with significant unmet medical needs: oncology, including IO; hematology and cell therapy, including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia; immunology, including relapsing multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease; cardiovascular, including cardiomyopathy, heart failure and thrombotic disorders; and fibrotic disease, including lung (IPF) and liver (NASH).
Our scientists are exploring new frontiers in the future of targeted therapy, and through new digital platforms we are converting decades of research and data into insights that sharpen the focus of our work. The breadth of our portfolio, deep scientific expertise, cutting-edge capabilities and discovery platforms allow us to look at cancer from every angle, targeting the cancer directly and the environment it lives in, and amplifying the body’s ability to fight disease. We are committed to reflecting diverse patient populations in our clinical trials and are collaborating with partners across the healthcare landscape to increase the speed and efficiency of our research. Until we can offer each person with serious disease a better, healthier life, and find a cure, we will keep working.
“Strategic partnerships like GECI are vital to knowledge sharing and to sustaining and accelerating the pace of scientific innovation.”
Head of Global Medical
Learn more:
Our approach to intellectual property
Innovation begins with R&D: A three-point approach
Today, our Immunology franchise encompasses two marketed products and a robust pipeline of more than 20 programs across nearly 20 diseases. Our teams take a three-point approach to identify mechanisms that:
- May help the body control inflammation.
- Reset the immune system.
- Promote balance in immune response.
With the goal of achieving long-term remission and, ultimately, curative therapies.
Global Expert Centers Initiative
Many cancer patients across the globe are still in need of improved therapeutic options. This remains true despite another year of remarkable progress for BMS’ pipeline with earlier use of IO as adjuvant cancer therapy and novel combinations with TKI or chemotherapy. GECI (Global Expert Centers Initiative) is a research platform launched by BMS in 2016 to accelerate oncology drug development and advance the company's strategy through engagement with leading European and Brazilian academic centers. To date, four annual GECI Summits have been held bringing BMS leaders and teams together with 60-70 thought leaders per year, representing all 23 GECI member institutions from eight countries to discuss research projects, share medical insights, and shape strategy.
At $32 billion, the combined investment over the last three years, by BMS and Celgene in R&D, is among the highest percent of total revenue of any large company in any industry in the world. In 2020, BMS spent $11.1 billion on R&D, including the discovery and development of new medicines. At the end of 2020, we had more than 50 medicines in development, covering more than 40 different disease areas, including expected launches in CAR T and lung cancers. For more information see our Development Portfolio by Therapeutic Area, Appendix pages 63-65. At the same time, investing in R&D is risky without the guarantee of success.
Our R&D pipeline includes potential medicines in various modalities including small (chemically manufactured) molecules and large (protein) molecules, also known as biologics, millamolecules, antibody drug conjugates, cellular therapies and gene therapies. In addition to discovering and developing new molecular entities, we look for ways to expand the value of existing products through new indications and formulations that can provide additional benefits to patients. Through advances in genetic engineering, we are now able to create T cells that target specific proteins in cancer cells, enlisting the body’s natural immune system in the defeat of cancer. We have seen similar extraordinary gains in the prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma.
Our product development life cycle is a journey with multiple touchpoints and opportunities for impact.
Research and Development
Clinical trial diversity ensures that we are maximizing our understanding of how our therapies are received by patient groups.
Manufacturing
We focus on innovative, agile drug product manufacturing while simultaneously ensuring product quality and patient safety.
Commercial
No one size fits all, so we use value-based pricing and product donations to help as many people as possible access our medicines.
Capacity Building
Institutional knowledge of capacity building and policy advancement through the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation means an understanding of regional healthcare infrastructure and how to effectively deliver treatment and care globally.
Patient and Customer Use
Patient care is not a transaction, it is a journey. We meet patients and communities where they are and embrace technology as a means to provide the highest quality of care possible.
