Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer Announce Direct-to-Patient Eliquis ® (apixaban) Option

Business Wire

17-07-2025

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer (BMS NYSE: BMY) – (Pfizer NYSE: PFE) Alliance today announced a new direct-to-patient option for purchasing Eliquis ® (apixaban) via our Alliance's patient resource Eliquis 360 Support. The offering provides an opportunity for uninsured, underinsured, or self-pay patients to significantly lower their out-of-pocket costs for this critical medicine. Eliquis is relied upon by millions of Americans daily and this program will provide a simple and transparent way to access it.
Beginning September 8, eligible U.S. patients with an Eliquis prescription may purchase the medicine directly through Eliquis 360 Support and will pay a discounted rate of more than 40% less than the current list price. The program will provide direct shipping to patients across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, offering an additional, simplified option for accessing Eliquis and full transparency into the associated costs.
'The BMS-Pfizer Alliance is committed to increasing patient access and affordability, which is why we are launching this direct-to-patient offering for Eliquis. Eliquis is the nation's number one prescribed oral anticoagulant that provides important benefits to patients and the healthcare system,' said Christopher Boerner, Ph.D., Board Chair and CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb. 'This program passes more savings directly to patients and demonstrates our continued focus on identifying innovative solutions that foster the best outcomes for each individual while prioritizing access to care.'
Eliquis 360 Support is a patient support program that provides health education and helps patients understand and navigate their prescription insurance coverage, available at https://www.eliquis.bmscustomerconnect.com/support. Eligible U.S. patients with a prescription will be able to purchase Eliquis through the program as of September 8, 2025.
With more than 15 million Americans having been prescribed Eliquis since it was first launched, the medicine has resulted in an estimated $3 billion in total healthcare cost savings and avoidance, such as hospitalization and extended rehabilitation needs, for every 100,000 patients treated.
U.S. Indications and Important Safety Information
Indications
ELIQUIS is a prescription medicine used in adults to:
- Reduce the risk of stroke and blood clots in people who have atrial fibrillation (AFib), a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem
- Treat blood clots in the veins of the legs (deep vein thrombosis – DVT) or lungs (pulmonary embolism – PE), and reduce the risk of them occurring again after receiving treatment for blood clots
- Help prevent a blood clot in the legs (DVT) and lungs (PE) of people who have just had hip or knee replacement surgery
ELIQUIS is a prescription medicine used in children from birth and older to treat blood clots in the veins of the legs and lungs (venous thromboembolism) after at least 5 days of initial coagulant treatment, and reduce the risk of them occurring again. ELIQUIS was not studied and is not recommended in children who weigh less than 5.7 pounds (2.6 kg).
Important Safety Information
ELIQUIS may cause serious side effects, including:
Increased risk of blood clots if you stop taking ELIQUIS. ELIQUIS lowers your chance of having a stroke by helping to prevent clots from forming. Do not stop taking ELIQUIS without talking to the healthcare provider who prescribed it for you. Stopping ELIQUIS increases your risk of having a stroke.
ELIQUIS may need to be stopped prior to surgery or a medical or dental procedure. Your healthcare provider will tell you when you should stop taking ELIQUIS and when you may start taking it again. If you have to stop taking ELIQUIS, your healthcare provider may prescribe another medicine to help prevent a blood clot from forming.
ELIQUIS can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and may lead to death. This is because ELIQUIS is a blood thinner medicine that reduces blood clotting.
You may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take ELIQUIS and take other medicines that increase your risk of bleeding, such as aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (called NSAIDs), warfarin, heparin, clopidogrel, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and other medicines to help prevent or treat blood clots.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you or your child take, including any over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
While taking ELIQUIS, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop.
Call your healthcare provider or get medical help right away if you or your child have any of these signs or symptoms of bleeding when taking ELIQUIS:
○ unexpected bleeding or bruising, or bleeding that lasts a long time, such as unusual bleeding from the gums, nose bleeds that happen often, or menstrual or vaginal bleeding that is heavier than normal
○ bleeding that is severe or you cannot control
○ red, pink, or brown urine; red or black stools (looks like tar)
○ coughing up or vomiting blood or vomit that looks like 'coffee grounds'
○ unexpected pain, swelling, or joint pain
○ headaches, or feeling dizzy or weak
Spinal or epidural blood clots (hematoma). People who take ELIQUIS, and have medicine injected into their spinal and epidural area, or have a spinal puncture have a risk of forming a blood clot that can cause long-term or permanent loss of the ability to move (paralysis). Your risk of developing a spinal or epidural blood clot is higher if:
○ a thin tube called an epidural catheter is placed in your back to give you certain medicine
○ you take NSAIDs or a medicine to prevent blood from clotting
○ you have a history of difficult or repeated epidural or spinal punctures
○ you have a history of problems with your spine or have had surgery on your spine
If you take ELIQUIS and receive spinal anesthesia or have a spinal puncture, your healthcare provider should watch you closely for symptoms of spinal or epidural blood clots or bleeding. Tell your healthcare provider or get medical help right away if you have back pain, tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness, especially in your legs and feet, or loss of control of the bowels or bladder (incontinence).
ELIQUIS is not for use in people with artificial heart valves.
ELIQUIS is not for use in people with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), especially with positive triple antibody testing.
Do not take ELIQUIS if you or your child currently have certain types of abnormal bleeding or have had a severe allergic reaction to ELIQUIS or any of the ingredients.
Before taking ELIQUIS, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you or your child have or ever had bleeding problems, have kidney or liver problems, or have antiphospholipid syndrome. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed. Taking ELIQUIS during pregnancy may increase the risk of bleeding in you or in your unborn baby. Do not breastfeed during treatment with ELIQUIS. Females who are able to become pregnant: talk with your healthcare provider about pregnancy planning, and your risk of severe uterine bleeding if you are treated with ELIQUIS.
Take ELIQUIS exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. Take ELIQUIS twice every day, and do not change your dose or stop taking it unless your healthcare provider tells you to. If you or your child misses a dose of ELIQUIS, take it as soon as you remember on the same day, and do not take 2 doses at the same time to make up for a missed dose. Do not stop taking ELIQUIS without first talking with your healthcare provider. Do not run out of ELIQUIS. Refill your prescription before you run out. When leaving the hospital following hip or knee replacement, be sure that you will have ELIQUIS available to avoid missing any doses.
For children who take ELIQUIS, see the detailed Instructions for Use on how to prepare and give a dose of ELIQUIS. Always give ELIQUIS exactly as your child's healthcare provider or pharmacist has told you. Do not change your child's dose without talking with the healthcare provider. If a child vomits or spits up within 30 minutes after taking ELIQUIS, repeat the dose. If a child vomits or spits up more than 30 minutes after taking ELIQUIS, do not repeat the dose. Contact the healthcare provider if your child repeatedly vomits or spits up after taking ELIQUIS.
The most common side effect of ELIQUIS in adults was bleeding.
The most common side effects of ELIQUIS in children include headache, vomiting, and heavy menstrual bleeding.
Please see U.S. Full Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNINGS, and Medication Guide.
About Bristol Myers Squibb: Transforming Patients' Lives Through Science
At Bristol Myers Squibb, our mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. We are pursuing bold science to define what's possible for the future of medicine and the patients we serve. For more information, visit us at BMS.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients' Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For 175 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on X at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.
About the Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer Collaboration
The Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance (the Alliance) is committed to driving education and awareness about atrial fibrillation and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE). With long-standing cardiovascular leadership, global scale and expertise in this field, the Alliance strives to implement global, research-driven approaches to illuminate and address the unmet needs around strokes related to non-valvular atrial fibrillation, which are often fatal or debilitating. Through collaborations with non-profit organizations, the Alliance aims to provide patients, healthcare professionals and decision makers with the information they need to understand and take appropriate action on risk factors associated with stroke and other cardiovascular conditions.
BMS 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 and the Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance. 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 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 expected benefits of, and opportunities related to, the Alliance may not be realized by Bristol Myers Squibb with respect to Eliquis. 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, 2024, 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.
Pfizer Disclosure Notice
The information contained in this release is as of July 17, 2025. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.
This release contains forward-looking information about the Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance launch of a new direct-to-patient option for purchasing Eliquis via the Alliance's patient resource Eliquis 360 Support Program, including its potential benefits and anticipated impact on patient access and affordability, that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, uncertainties regarding the impact of the Eliquis 360 Support Program on Pfizer's business, operations and financial condition and results; risks related to the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Eliquis 360 Support Program, including the possibility that the expected benefits will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; the uncertainties inherent in business and financial planning, including, without limitation, risks related to Pfizer's business and prospects, adverse developments in Pfizer's markets, or adverse developments in the U.S. or global capital markets, credit markets, regulatory environment or economies generally; risks and uncertainties related to issued or future executive orders or other new, or changes in, laws or regulations; uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on our business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments.
A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned 'Risk Factors' and 'Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results', as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.