Bristol-Myers Squibb stock sinks 7.2% after it says it won't pursue accelerated approval for lung cancer combination treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. shares sunk 7.2% in pre-market trade Friday after the company said it wouldn't try for accelerated approval in first-line lung cancer for its combination of Opdivo and Yervoy. The company said the decision was made "based on a review of the data available at this time," and said it would say no more "in order to protect the integrity of ongoing registrational studies." Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said the development was a "clear setback for BMY," especially given a fall approval by rival drugmaker Merck in first-line lung cancer. The combination of Opdivo and Yervoy is seen by many as Bristol's best approach to lung cancer, and the company has four clinical trials underway. "Regardless of the data used to inform this update, it is obvious that it did not meet the threshold for a filing and BMY confirmed to us that MRK's surprise filing did not influence this decision," Fernandez said. Bristol shares have risen 10.2% over the last three months, compared with a 5.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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