Bristol-Myers Squibb Co Undergoes Major US Busines...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) announced Thursday it will be halting early-stage discovery work in virology research, including hepatitis B and HIV. The company will be laying off around 100 employees as it shuts down two research centers.

"Consistent with the evolution of the company's R&D strategic focus, which was announced in 2013, the Discovery organization will discontinue its research efforts in virology. This includes early research in hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV...Approximately 100 Discovery positions will be eliminated as a result of these changes,” the company stated.

Bristol-Myers, however, noted that ongoing development work on advanced virology treatments including HIV attachment inhibitor BMS-663068, the HIV maturation inhibitor BMS-955176, beclabuvir and the anti-PD-L1 compound BMS-936559, will continue. Also, the company’s marketed virology drugs such as Baraclude (entecavir), Reyataz (atazanavir)/Evotaz (atazanavir and cobicistat), Sustiva (efavirenz), Atripla (efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), Daklinza (daclatasvir) and Sunvepra (asunaprevir), will not be affected by the consolidation.

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