Will Cobenfy Become a Growth Driver for BMY's Neuroscience Business?

Bristol Myers Squibb BMY recently announced that it will continue the phase III ADEPT-2 study on Cobenfy in psychosis associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The decision to continue the study follows a review of site-level data and the recommendation of the data monitoring committee.

BMY had expected to announce data from the ADEPT-2 study by the end of this year. However, this readout is now postponed to next year. Nonetheless, the decision to continue with the study still appeased the investors.

A positive readout on the drug for this indication will be a significant boost for BMY.

Cobenfy is currently approved for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. Cobenfy represents the first new pharmacological approach to treating schizophrenia in decades. The initial uptake is encouraging, with sales of $105 million year to date.

The drug is anticipated to become a meaningful growth driver for BMY’s top line as it pursues label expansions across new indications.

Additional trial results from the ADEPT program evaluating psychosis associated with Alzheimer’s disease — including ADEPT-2, ADEPT-1 and ADEPT-4 — are anticipated by the end of 2026.

The company is also evaluating Cobenfy for agitation in Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease cognition. The drug is also being evaluated for bipolar 1 disorder.

BMY is also evaluating other candidates for Alzheimer’s disease. In October, the FDA granted Fast Track Designation to BMS-986446, a potential best-in-class anti-microtubule binding region-tau (anti-MTBR-tau) antibody. The candidate is currently in phase II development for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease.

BMY’s neuroscience pipeline also includes candidates for neurodegenerative diseases (BMS-986495) and other candidates for multiple sclerosis, and mood and anxiety disorders.

Competition for BMY’s Neuroscience Drugs/Candidates

Developing treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s disease is a complex affair. BMY’s Alzheimer’s disease candidates will face competition from approved products like Eli Lilly’s LLY Kinsula, and Biogen BIIB and Eisai’s Leqembi upon a potential approval.

Last year, Eli Lilly won FDA approval for Kisunla (donanemab-azbt, 350 mg/20 mL once-monthly injection for IV infusion) for adults with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease, which includes people with mild cognitive impairment as well as those with the mild dementia stage, with confirmed amyloid pathology.

In September 2025, LLY won European Commission’s approval for Kisunla (donanemab) for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.

Lilly continues to study donanemab in multiple clinical trials, including TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 3, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of donanemab in patients with preclinical Alzheimer's disease to determine if it reduces the risk of progression to symptomatic the disease.

Biogen and Eisai’s Leqembi is indicated for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In August 2025, BIIB and Eisai won FDA approval for once-weekly lecanemab-irmb subcutaneous injection for maintenance dosing for the Treatment of early Alzheimer's Disease.

BMY’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Bristol Myers have lost 7.8% year to date against the industry’s growth of 19.3%.

From a valuation standpoint, BMY is trading at a discount to the large-cap pharma industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, BMY’s shares currently trade at 8.67x forward earnings, higher than its mean of 8.39x but lower than the large-cap pharma industry’s 16.68X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share has moved north in the past 60 days, while that for 2026 EPS has moved south.

BMY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research