Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and MyoKardia have entered a merger agreement under which BMS will acquire MyoKardia for $13.1 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the BMS and MyoKardia boards and is anticipated to close during the fourth quarter of 2020.
 
MyoKardia is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted therapies for the treatment of serious cardiovascular diseases. Through the transaction, BMS gains mavacamten, a potential first-in-class cardiovascular medicine for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a chronic heart disease with high morbidity and patient impact. A New Drug Application (NDA) for mavacamten for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM—based on data from the EXPLORER-HCM study—is expected to be submitted to the U.S. FDA in the first quarter of 2021.
 
BMS expects to explore the full potential of mavacamten in additional indications, including non-obstructive HCM, as well as develop MyoKardia’s promising pipeline of novel compounds, including two clinical-stage therapeutics: danicamtiv (formerly MYK-491) and MYK-224.
 
“The acquisition of MyoKardia further strengthens our portfolio, pipeline and scientific capabilities, and is expected to add a meaningful medium- and long-term growth driver,” said Giovanni Caforio, board chair and chief executive officer, BMS. “We are further strengthening our outstanding cardiovascular franchise through the addition of mavacamten, a promising medicine with the potential to address a significant unmet medical need in patients with cardiovascular disease.”
 
Tassos Gianakakos, chief executive officer, MyoKardia, said, “MyoKardia was formed eight years ago with the aim of changing the world for people with serious cardiovascular diseases through bold and innovative science. Since then, MyoKardia’s dedicated employees have established an unparalleled pipeline of targeted therapeutics designed to change the course of disease and return the heart to normal function. Bristol Myers Squibb shares our vision for transforming the treatment of cardiovascular disease. They value our team and the potential of our platform and, most importantly, share our unwavering commitment to placing patients at the center of everything we do. Together, our complementary strengths and expanded resources and reach will further accelerate the pace at which we can discover, develop and commercialize our novel medicines for the benefit of people suffering from cardiovascular disease around the world.”