BMS CEO Boerner doesn’t ‘feel any compulsion to chase deals’ despite lack of M&A this year

Biotech BMS CEO Boerner doesn’t ‘feel any compulsion to make deals’ despite lack of M&A this year By Will Maddox Jul 30, 2026 10:37am Bristol Myers Squibb antibody-drug conjugates Earnings mergers and acquisitions Bristol Myers Squibb may have been noticeable by its absence from the biotech buying spree of some of its U.S. Big Pharma peers this year. But judging by the comments of CEO Chris Boerner, Ph.D., this morning, the situation might not change anytime soon.

“We've got a very strong late-stage pipeline,” Boerner told analysts on a second-quarter earnings call. “We certainly don't feel any compulsion to chase deals.” BMS completed $30 billion-worth of deals over the past two years, including picking up the likes of Orbital Therapeutics and 2seventy bio in 2025. But despite suggesting in January that the company would “cast a broad net” when it came to dealmaking in 2026, the pharma has been pretty quiet—bar the $600 million upfront licensing pact with China's Hengrui Pharma and a $60 million upfront deal with Janux Therapeutics.

It's a stark contrast to Eli Lilly, which has announced 11 buyouts this year alone. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. spent $6.7 billion on Terns Pharmaceuticals, and even Pfizer ended 2025 with a blowout $10 billion deal for obesity biotech Metsera.

Boerner suggested he would be tempted by an asset in “therapeutic areas that we know well,” especially if it's backed up by strong science and his team can “make a compelling case financially that we can drive value to the company and to shareholders.” “If those things come together and ideally continue to enable us to de-risk our near-term growth profile, we certainly have the financial flexibility and the capabilities to be in the mix,” he said on the call. Chief Medical Officer Cristian Massacesi, M.D., pointed to BMS-986458, an oral BCL6 ligand-directed degrader being developed for non-Hodgkin lymphoma as an example of the type of innovation the company is on the lookout for. “I'm excited by what is new and what is innovative in terms of new targets, but also the way you deliver your drugs against the target,” Massacesi said on the call.

When it came what else is exciting people about the pipeline, excutives pointed to milvexian, which is in phase 3 for atrial fibrillation and stroke, despite its flop in acute coronary syndrome. They also touted admilparant, a late-stage asset for types of fibrosis. But it wasn’t all good news for BMS’ pipeline.

The company confirmed to Fierce this morning that it has called time on BMS-986365. The pharma had been evaluating the androgen receptor ligand-directed degrader (AR LDD) in a phase 3 trial of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. An analysis of the first, dose-finding part of the study had demonstrated the “probability of achieving the target efficacy outcome in part 2 was low,” a spokesperson told Fierce.

BMS still has another AR LDD molecule, dubbed BMS-986460, which is currently in a phase 1 trial for prostate cancer. “BMS remains confident in our targeted protein degradation platform and the potential of what an oral, androgen receptor protein degrader can provide to patients with prostate cancer,” the spokesperson added. Further back in its pipeline, BMS also discontinued an eIF2B activator called comtifator, or BMS-986419, which targeted the integrated stress response (ISR) for neurodegenerative conditions.

BMS attributed the decision to its ongoing portfolio review process. The final therapy thrown on the scrapheap was BMS-986490, a CEACAM5-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) featuring a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor payload for patients with advanced solid tumors. A spokesperson stressed to Fierce the company's “conviction in the ADC modality remains strong,” pointing to the EGFRxHER3 ADC izalontamab brengitecan (iza-bren), which had a strong phase 3 showing in triple-negative breast cancer last month.

“We continue to see significant opportunity ahead through our differentiated assets including iza-bren and through novel combination approaches designed to redefine treatment paradigms across solid tumors,” the spokesperson said. Bristol Myers Squibb antibody-drug conjugates Earnings mergers and acquisitions Deals Biotech