EMPLICITI HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR ME. IT’S KEEPING ME GOING PRETTY STRONG.”
"It's Keeping Me Going"
In 2006, Ozzie Bowen, then 64, went in for a routine physical. His physician told him he had high protein levels in his blood and sent him to another doctor. “On the outside of the door, it said ‘Cancer,’ so I thought it must be bad,” says Ozzie.
Ozzie’s fears were confirmed. Doctors diagnosed multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma is a hematologic cancer that develops in the bone marrow. Symptoms include bone pain, fatigue, kidney impairment and infections. Annually, an estimated 114,250 new cases of multiple myeloma are diagnosed worldwide and more than 80,000 people die.
Ozzie began standard chemotherapy treatments. At first, he felt fine. But then, after some changes to his treatments, everything changed: “I got dizzy and sick and I couldn’t walk without falling down.”
In August 2007, Ozzie checked into the hospital for a stem cell transplant — a standard treatment for multiple myeloma. “He had no color, he was gray and semiconscious,” says Ozzie’s wife Sheryl. “I slept on a folding chair in his room.” It was an ordeal, but his cancer went into remission.
After less than two years, Ozzie’s myeloma returned. Then he learned about a clinical trial at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University with a new drug that would be used in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone.
The drug was Empliciti (elotuzumab), an immunostimulatory antibody that directly activates the immune system and targets malignant myeloma cells. In Novmeber 2015, Empliciti was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Prior to approval, Empliciti was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA, which helps to expedite development and review of drugs for serious or life threatening conditions.
Ozzie’s myeloma has been under control for more than six years. “Empliciti has done great things for me. It’s keeping me going pretty strong,” he says.
“We’re looking for a long, fruitful life together,” adds Sheryl. “Thank you, Bristol-Myers Squibb. Thank you for your brains.”
The patient stories shared in this Annual Report depict individual patient responses to our medicines or investigational compounds and are not representative of all patient responses. In addition, there is no guarantee that potential drugs or indications still in development will receive regulatory approval.
This Annual Report contains statements about the company's future plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from those indicated as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. These documents are available from the SEC, the Bristol-Myers Squibb website or from Bristol-Myers Squibb Investor Relations. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.
This Annual Report also contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, adjusted to include certain costs, expenses, gains and losses and other specified items. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are available on the company's website at www.bms.com.