NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bristol Myers Squibb was hit with a $6.7 billion lawsuit on Thursday, alleging it defrauded former Celgene (NASDAQ:) shareholders by delaying federal approval for three drugs, 1.5 months after a federal judge abruptly rejected an earlier application. version of the case.
The lawsuit accused Bristol Myers of depriving holders of “contingent value rights” (CVR) of an additional $9 per share in cash by waiting too long for approval of the drugs, including the cancer drug Breyanzi, by certain deadlines. It said Bristol Myers did this to avoid a big payout.
On September 30, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan ruled that plaintiff UMB Bank was never properly appointed as trustee to represent the CVR holders.
He said this “inexplicable failure” nullified the earlier lawsuit UMB filed after allegedly replacing another trustee, and 17 months after Bristol Myers bought Celgene for $80.3 billion.
In Thursday’s complaint, UMB said it has addressed the judge’s concerns and has been confirmed as trustee, giving it the right to file a lawsuit. Bristol Myers’ estimated liability of $6.7 billion is higher than the $6.4 billion cited in previous lawsuits.
Neither Bristol Myers nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment after market hours. UMB’s lawyers did not immediately respond to separate requests.
Bristol Myers received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for Breyanzi for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on February 5, 2021, five weeks after the relevant deadline for CVR holders.
The case is UMB Bank NA v. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:) Co, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-08668.