Bristol Myers Squibb Stock Rises After Schizophrenia Drug Gets FDA Approval

Key Takeaways

• Bristol Myers Squibb's drug to treat schizophrenia was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration.
• The pharmaceutical firm called Cobenfy the first new treatment for the illness in decades.
• Bristol Myers Squibb said Cobenfy gives patients an important new option to current schizophrenia therapy.

Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) rose Friday, a day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of what the pharmaceutical firm called the first treatment for schizophrenia in decades.

The company explained that Cobenfy for adults uses "a fundamentally new approach to treating schizophrenia" by selectively targeting certain receptors in the brain without blocking others. It noted that approximately 2.8 million people in the U.S. suffer from the disease, and that with the current standard of care, "up to 60% of people experience inadequate improvement in symptoms or intolerable side effects during therapy."

CEO Says Drug Has 'Potential To Change the Treatment Paradigm'

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Boerner said regulatory approval of Cobenfy "marks an important milestone for the community, where after more than 30 years, there is now an entirely new pharmacological approach for schizophrenia—one that has the potential to change the treatment paradigm."

Dr. Rishi Kakar, an investigator in the clinical studies of the drug, called approval "a transformative moment" in the treatment of the illness because, historically, medicines have targeted the same primary pathways in the brain, and Cobenfy offers sufferers "a new option."

Bristol Myers Squibb shares surged in premarket trading and were up 2% about 30 minutes into Friday's session, but remain slightly negative for 2024.

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