Bristol Myers Squibb Board Chair & CEO Chris Boerner joins us at the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the closing bell to discuss the company’s strategy, innovation pipeline, and outlook for 2026 and beyond. He highlights that the firm’s long-standing mission remains unchanged: tackling some of science’s toughest challenges while bringing transformative medicines to patients. Over the next 18–24 months, the company expects multiple data readouts, with the potential for 10 new medicines and more than 30 meaningful launch opportunities by the end of the decade. Bernard also emphasizes the growing role of artificial intelligence across the entire pharmaceutical value chain from discovery to delivery, saying it could cut development timelines by up to 30%. With a strong portfolio, solid financial position, and what he describes as the richest pipeline in company history, he tells investors the future looks bright as the company aims to accelerate innovation and strengthen the U.S. biopharma ecosystem for decades to come.
Get the latest news and updates on FINTECH.TV
I am now joined by Chris Chris Boerner and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Chris, good evening.
Great to have you here and congratulations on the bell.
Thank you so much.
It's fantastic to be here.
Well, first and foremost, BMS has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for nearly a century, so that is quite a success story.
So tell me about the strategy.
Well, listen, our strategy continues to be similar to what it was through our entire history as a company.
Over those years we've tackled some of the hardest problems in science.
Right now we have a fantastic pipeline of new medicines that we'll be launching over the next 18 to 24 months.
We're focused on bringing that to market, continuing to deliver on the portfolio we have today, and of course continuing to find new science to bring in to help transform the lives of patients.
And Chris, of course I do want to hear about your pipeline.
So tell us what's in store.
Well, we have.
Probably the richest pipeline we have ever had in the history of the company, certainly in my 11 years.
Over the next 18 to 24 months, we have the potential for multiple data readouts between now and the end of the decade.
We have the potential to deliver 10 new medicines and over 30 meaningful launch opportunities.
Added up, that gives us a lot of opportunity to not only continue to deliver for patients today, but transform the lives of patients across their. areas for the remainder of the decade and exit this decade is one of the fastest growing companies in the sector.
And speaking of decade, there are all eyes on artificial intelligence.
So tell us what's going on with AI and BMS.
Well, AI is going to transform, in our view, every single sector of this of this industry, and frankly we're looking at as transforming the entire value chain, everything from basic discovery to how we deliver.
Medicines to patients.
We're making significant investments across the value chain.
And let me give you one illustration of the impact that it can have.
The single biggest period of developing a new medicine is the time from when a medicine enters a patient in phase one all the way to approval.
We have the potential to use AI to reduce that by upwards of 30%.
So we're setting very bold ambitions with this technology.
We're making investments, um, and we think it's going to transform how we operate.
And speaking of which, as you look beyond the next decade and possibly the next 100 years, of course you're looking at the domestic innovation ecosystem.
Sure.
So give us an understanding of what we can expect.
Well, we are fortunate in the United States to have the best ecosystem for biopharmaceuticals writ large, and our focus as a company being at the epicenter of that is to continue to strengthen that ecosystem.
So we continue to engage with the government in the US, on both sides of the aisle, and certainly with the administration to strengthen that ecosystem to enable us to continue to deliver on our mission for patients.
And of course as we kick off the new year, all eyes have been on leadership.
So as the CEO, what are your priorities heading into 2026?
Well, right now we have a very strong company and our mission and our mission as a leadership team is to continue to strengthen it.
We've got a Young portfolio of differentiated products today.
They're growing nicely with good momentum out of 2025.
We've got, as I said, the strongest pipeline that we've certainly had in my 10 years, 11 years at the company.
We're in a very strong financial position and our focus is to continue to deliver day in and day out for our patients.
And finally, you just rang the closing bell here at the New York Stock Exchange.
So do you have a message for investors out there?
Well, the history of the Company is storied.
We've been around for over 160 years.
We've been part of the exchange for almost a century, and the future is bright.
We're strong today.
We're getting stronger, and our focus is to continue to do what we've done so well in that history bring really, really innovative medicines, transform the lives of patients, and do that with speed.
Well, Chris, great talking to you today.
Thank you so much for joining us and congratulations on the closing bell.
Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
Thank you so much.