PRINCETON - Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion for ZEPOSIA (ozanimod) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with active disease as defined by clinical or imaging features.

ZEPOSIA is an oral, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator that binds with high affinity selectively to S1P subtypes 1 (S1P1) and 5 (S1P5). The CHMP recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission, which has the authority to approve medicines for the European Union.

'This positive CHMP opinion reinforces that ZEPOSIA has the potential to become an important treatment option for patients with relapsing remitting MS with active disease. There remains a need for effective and safe therapies that impact both the relapses and brain lesions that are characteristic of this disease,' said Samit Hirawat, M.D., chief medical officer, Bristol Myers Squibb. 'We look forward to the European Commission's decision and the potential to bring ZEPOSIA to patients in the EU.'

The CHMP adopted the positive opinion based on data from the randomized, active-controlled Phase 3 SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B clinical trials, which enrolled more than 2,600 patients across 150 sites in more than 20 countries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ZEPOSIA for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS) on March 25, 2020.

About SUNBEAM

SUNBEAM is a pivotal, phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of two doses of oral ZEPOSIA (0.92 mg and 0.46 mg, equivalent to 1 mg and 0.5 mg ozanimod HCI, respectively) against weekly intramuscular AVONEX (interferon beta-1a) for at least a 12-month treatment period. The study included 1,346 people living with RMS across 152 sites in 20 countries.

The primary endpoint of the trial was annualized relapse rates (ARR) during the treatment period. The secondary MRI endpoints included the number of new or enlarging hyperintense T2-weighted brain MRI lesions over 12 months, number of gadolinium-enhanced brain MRI lesions at month 12 and percent change from baseline in whole brain volume at month 12. Cortical grey and thalamic volume changes were also prospectively assessed versus active comparator.

An analysis of the time to onset of three-month confirmed disability progression was pre-specified using pooled data from both the SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B phase 3 trials.

About RADIANCE

RADIANCE Part B is a pivotal, phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of two doses of oral ZEPOSIA (0.92 mg and 0.46 mg, equivalent to 1 mg and 0.5 mg ozanimod HCI, respectively) against weekly intramuscular AVONEX (interferon beta-1a) over a 24-month treatment period. The study included 1,320 people living with RMS across 150 sites in 21 countries.

The primary endpoint of the trial was ARR over 24 months. The secondary MRI endpoints included the number of new or enlarging hyperintense T2-weighted brain MRI lesions over 24 months, number of gadolinium-enhanced brain MRI lesions at month 24 and percent change from baseline in whole brain volume at month 24. Cortical grey and thalamic volume changes were also prospectively assessed versus active comparator.

An analysis of the time to onset of three-month confirmed disability progression was pre-specified using pooled data from both the SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B phase 3 trials.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that covers the nerves. The myelin damage disrupts communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Ultimately, the nerves themselves may deteriorate - a process that's currently irreversible. MS affects 700,000 people in Europe and approximately 2.5 million people worldwide.

Relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) is characterized by clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function. These attacks - often called relapses, flare-ups or exacerbations - are followed by partial or complete recovery periods (remissions), during which symptoms improve partially or completely with no apparent progression of disease. RRMS is the most common disease course at the time of diagnosis. Approximately 85 percent of patients are initially diagnosed with RRMS, compared with 10-15 percent with progressive forms of the disease.

About ZEPOSIA (ozanimod)

ZEPOSIA (ozanimod) is an oral, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator that binds with high affinity to S1P receptors 1 and 5. ZEPOSIA blocks the capacity of lymphocytes to egress from lymph nodes, reducing the number of lymphocytes in peripheral blood. The mechanism by which ZEPOSIA exerts therapeutic effects in multiple sclerosis is unknown but may involve the reduction of lymphocyte migration into the central nervous system.

ZEPOSIA is also in development for additional immune-inflammatory indications, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.

Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are wholly owned subsidiaries of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. In certain countries outside the U.S., due to local laws, Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are referred to as, Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company and Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb company.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the CHMP opinion is not binding on the European Commission, that ZEPOSIA (ozanimod) may not receive regulatory approval for the indication described in this release in the currently anticipated timeline or at all and, if approved, whether such product candidate for such indication described in this release will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb's business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

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