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A unanimous 3-judge panel ruled that UMB Bank had standing to represent former Celgene shareholders despite a procedural error in its appointment
Bristol Myers Squibb $BMY faces a revived $6.7 billion lawsuit after a federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that a lower court wrongly dismissed the case brought by UMB Bank on behalf of former Celgene shareholders.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan voted 3-0 to reinstate the suit, which accuses the drugmaker of deliberately slowing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process for three drugs — including the cancer therapy Breyanzi — to avoid a large payout to shareholders, according to Reuters.
The case stems from Bristol Myers' $80.3 billion acquisition of Celgene in 2019. Under the deal, Celgene shareholders who held contingent value rights were entitled to an additional $9 per share if Bristol Myers secured timely FDA approvals for three drugs: Liso-cel, sold as Breyanzi; Ozanimod; and Ide-cel. The FDA granted Bristol Myers approval for Breyanzi as a non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment on February 5, 2021, a date that fell five weeks past the contractual deadline.
