Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Pharma Company Updates

This is the season for pharmaceutical company updates to the financial press, and conferences for the pharmaceutical industry. Following are some short excerpts from presentations from different companies - on their programs supporting their drugs. These are made to professional audiences (typically financial analysts and medical professionals). We also have excerpts from annual stockholder meetings - which can be interestingly unscripted events as shareholders speak their minds on issues important to them. We've excerpted some of the more interesting question and answer sessions that we've come across...

Eli Lilly - Zyprexa Manufacturer:
Eli Lilly at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. Health Care Conference
Presentation by Sidney Taurel, who is the Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and President of Eli Lilly

"...this year, we began to implement several interventions that are intended to directly address our customers' questions about the use of Zyprexa. For instance, we have launched a nationwide community-based program for physicians in which psychiatrists and endocrinologists team together to provide information to doctors regarding how to ensure that both the mental health and the medical health issues are being effectively addressed in their patients.

These medical issues include weight gain, elevated lipids and diabetes. ... we're providing tools to help physicians better understand and implement the recently published ADA guidelines. These tools help physicians monitor their patients in accordance with the FDA's class-wide labeling for all atypicals regarding hyperglycemia and diabetes."

Q1 2005 Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Kevin Rakin, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ben Kaplan, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Carol Reed, Vice President Medical Affairs, and Dr. Richard Judson, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer

" In our other program we have discovered compelling genetic markers for predicting patients susceptible to Agranulocytosis induced by Clozapine. This drug [clozapine] currently has sales of approximately $200 million. The use of our genetic markers could substantially expand Clozapine sales. Our next step is to validate these markers. We believe we can accomplish this in a cost-effective manner during 2005. The CARING data also has applicability to other drugs that induce neutropenia or Agranulocytosis."

Bristol-Myers Squibb Annual Meeting of Stockholders
PETER DOLAN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB

"...Turning to some product highlights. Abilfy, a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disease, that we're co-developing and co-marketing with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company has had the fastest update of any new pharmaceutical product in the U.S. over the past several years. It now has achieved market share in excess of 11% in weekly new prescriptions in the anti-psychotic class.

   Our total revenue for Abilify more than doubled in 2004 to nearly $600 million and it continues to grow as the product gains share in several key European markets as well. We are hopeful about additional growth for Abilify with the recent indications for the acute treatment and maintenance therapy of mania in bipolar disease."

... These 3 new products, Abilify, Reyataz and Erbitux have a distinction of being among the 10 most successful new pharmaceutical introductions in the U.S. in recent years as measured by the rates of market update.

...Last year, through the work of our patient assistance foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb provided 3 medications worth more than $500 million to more than 1 million people in the United States.

   I'm proud to say that our patient assistance programs are among the oldest and most generous in the industry. And we furthered our leadership in this area by being a key sponsor of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, an initiative to link the many private and public drug assistance programs to make it easier for patients to find and obtain the medicines they need.

   This initiative was launched earlier this year. And we plan to include information about it in our company's future U.S. print advertising.

   Bristol-Myers Squibb is also a key member of the Together Rx Consortium, which provides a wide range of discounted medicines to senior citizens until the Prescription Drug Benefit under the Medicare Modernization Act takes effect next year. Last year, the company also helped lead the effort within the industry to establish the Together Rx access card which gives uninsured people under 65 access to reduced priced medications.

   The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation continues to support health, education and community projects around the world and to donate medicines and other products to people in need. Last year, our cash donations reached nearly $15 million.

Bristol Meyers Question and Answer Period:

EVELYN Y. DAVIS, SHAREHOLDER: Hi. Good morning. I'm Evelyn Y. Davis from Washington D.C.

   Peter, I'd like to know, in view of the fact that stock prices and earnings, are way down, the Board sees fit to give you over $6 million, [in salary and bonus] . ...

...

PETER DOLAN: Right. Let me be responsive to your specific question, and then go back to the audience and ask if there are other questions on the election of directors.

PETER DOLAN: The compensation committee, and the full Board conduct a thorough review of company performance, individual performance, and competitive market data prior to setting my compensation each year. The review is then done in consultation with the compensation committee's independent consultant.

My compensation, like the compensation of all executives, is tied to both short term and long term performance.

...

UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: ... Now, I'm looking at just a portion of my proposal, they don't list that stockholder recommends that the Board directs management to disclose political contributions in major cities -- in newspapers in major cities as well as U.S.A. Today and the Wall Street Journal. And (inaudible) I wouldn't be included in each succeeding important shareholders and if no such disclosures were made to have the publicized and to say, "None."

Now, I'd like to have some sort of a disclosure how much did we make. And for instance $250,000 was give by Bristol-Myers Squibb to the Bush administration to the inaugural (ph). I personally am a registered Republican, but I vote independently for the best person.

PETER DOLAN: ... OK,...

UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: ... And also I'd like to know things like -- that are paid for by the company like funds like cultural or sports events ...

PETER DOLAN: ... OK, thank you ...

UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: ...amd the use of the corporate plane [for free by politicians that are friendly to the company], that's also a political contribution. There's nothing like that on your Website. And I think we'd like to know the amount is much higher.

PETER DOLAN: We need to move on to get to other proposals.

KIMBERLY SANCHEZ: My name is Kimberly Sanchez, and I am here today with my husband Larry, with whom I own several thousand shares. I'd like you to also know that we are part of this family, in which all members, are Bristol-Myers shareholders, and collectively, we own a significant number of shares. And we've been more than frustrated to watch helplessly, as the value of our holdings plummet and remained at approximately one third of the value that it was just a couple of years ago. And I'm speaking to you today on behalf of our family.

We live in a time where shareholder confidence is very low due to corporate scandals, corporate corruption and less than ethical methods of conducting business. We find this unacceptable, and it's up to us, the shareholders to demand a change. I'm here today to speak to you regarding the so-called plough back proposal that we've sponsored. We believe that this resolution is one way to help restore investor confidence in Bristol-Myers Squibb. And e ask our fellow shareholders to vote yes on this proposal.

In the real world in which I live, Mr. Chairman, hardworking and honest people, men and women struggle everyday just to keep their jobs, much less hold on to performance based bonuses that were based on phony numbers that have to restated. This company claims to believe in a pay-per-performance philosophy in which top executives are rewarded if the company performs well. Yet the bonuses paid to the executives based on false reporting in prior years remained with the executives.

I know no other example in which this type of practice would be acceptable. And to us this is not acceptable. And we believe it should not be acceptable policy at Bristol-Myers. I ask you this question, If the payroll department at Bristol-Myers Squibb sends erroneous check -- extra paycheck to an employee, would that money have to be paid back? And if it would, if the answer is yes to that question, why then would we have double standards in which the executives keep checks that are erroneously cut based on phony figures?

We recognize that since our proposal was submitted to you, the Board of Directors announced that it will review bonuses that were based on earnings that had to be restated. And it will try to re-confront if there is deliberate misconduct. That is a step forward, but it is only a step. And we think that the company should adopt a much simpler policy that I can give to you in less than 10 words. And those words are, "If you didn't earn it, you must return it."

I urge my fellow shareholders to vote "yes" on proposal number 8. It's shareholders money that we are talking about today and we have the right, as the shareholders to say, "If you didn't earn it, you must return it." Thank you.

PETER DOLAN: Thank you for your comments Ms. Sanchez. The Board of Directors position on this item appears on page 44.