Bristol-Myers, Otsuka Pharmaceutical sales and marketing update
The companies mutually decided that Otsuka will assume sales promotion and activities for Abilify aripiprazole in the U.S. Bristol will continue to co-promote neurology drug Abilify in Europe and be involved with manufacturing, distribution and pharmacovigilance activities related to Abilify globally. Bristol said its revenue-sharing terms for Abilify are unchanged and expects its expenses for Abilify to decline. Bristol said the revised deal allows the company to simplify operations and focus on its work in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hepatitis and immunology. Abilify is a small molecule partial agonist of the dopamine D2 and serotonin (5-HT1A) receptors and antagonist of the serotonin (5-HT2A) receptor. Bristol reported $2 billion in Abilify sales for the first nine months of this year. ...