Bristol Myers reaches $239M settlement over Otezla, Zeposia, Reuters reports

Bristol Myers (BMY) has reached a $239M settlement of claims that former Celgene shareholders were defrauded about prospects for the psoriasis drug Otezla and multiple sclerosis treatment Zeposia, Reuters’ Jonathan Stempel reports. A preliminary settlement of the 7-1/2-year-old class action was filed on Tuesday night in a U.S. court in Newark, NJ, and requires judicial approval, the report says. Celgene was accused of overstating the revenue potential for Otezla and ozanimod, the generic name for Zeposia, as it prepared for the eventual loss of patent protection for its multiple myeloma drug Revlimid., with the company and two executives allegedly ignoring internal warnings that Otezla would generate less revenue than investors were promised, and that the U.S. FDA would not approve ozanimod without required study data.