Prime Highlights
- A person familiar with the matter said a potential deal would carry regulatory risk due to how U.S. antitrust authorities might assess it.
- Andre Barlow said regulators would likely scrutinise overlapping drug portfolios and could require significant divestitures if the deal proceeds.
Key Facts
- AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb are both major global pharmaceutical companies, with a combined valuation of nearly $400 billion.
- Cancer treatments accounted for about $25 billion of AstraZeneca’s 2025 sales and over 40% of Bristol Myers’ sales so far this year.
Background
AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb have held preliminary discussions about a possible combination that would create one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, valued at nearly $400 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It remained unclear whether the talks were still ongoing. The person said a potential deal would carry regulatory risk, given concerns over how U.S. antitrust authorities might assess the transaction under the current administration, which has focused on domestic investment and expanding American manufacturing in the sector. AstraZeneca declined to comment, while Bristol Myers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The discussions come as AstraZeneca’s share price has more than quadrupled during Chief Executive Pascal Soriot’s tenure, outperforming the wider UK market. Its second-quarter results, released last week, showed continued strong demand for cancer and rare-disease treatments. Cancer drugs accounted for roughly $25 billion in sales last year, nearly half the company’s total revenue.
Oncology also made up more than 40% of Bristol Myers’ sales in the first half of this year, with the two companies’ cancer immunotherapies competing directly. Andre Barlow, an antitrust lawyer, said regulators would likely scrutinise any overlap between the firms’ drug portfolios and could require significant divestitures.
Bristol Myers has pursued smaller deals recently as sales of older medicines decline ahead of looming patent expirations. The company raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast last week, citing strong sales of blood thinner Eliquis and newer drugs.
The talks follow AstraZeneca’s success roughly a dozen years ago in fending off a takeover attempt by a larger U.S. rival, at a time when major pharmaceutical mergers have grown increasingly rare.
