Bristol-Myers Shares Sputter After Setback for Top Cancer Drug

(Bloomberg) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. suffered another setback for its biggest-selling cancer drug on Wednesday, sending shares of the drugmaker lower in late trading.

The company said in a statement a combination of its immunotherapy Opdivo and chemotherapy didn’t extend the lives of patients with a deadly form of lung cancer in a statistically significant way over chemotherapy on its own. The drug was being tested in patients as a first treatment.

Shares of the company declined 4% to $41.50 in after-hours trading in New York. Bristol-Myers is expected to report its latest quarterly results on Thursday morning. The company is in the middle of absorbing drugmaker Celgene Corp., which it agreed to buy earlier this year for about $74 billion.

The drugmaker has been locked in a battle with rival Merck & Co. for top billing in the burgeoning market for treatments that harness the immune system to fight cancer. Merck shares increased 0.7% to $82.35 late Wednesday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy Annett in New York at tannett@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net

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