Bristol-Myers Squibb Company / DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company

HIV-1 Infection

$1.5B DuPont Pharmaceuticals 2000 total revenue (Sustiva + Coumadin + Cardiolite)

Disease Overview

HIV-1 infection in 2001 was a chronic, lifelong condition managed with combination antiretroviral therapy (HAART) following the 1996 standard-of-care shift. Roughly 900,000-1M Americans were living with HIV, with NNRTI-anchored regimens emerging as a preferred backbone for treatment-naive patients.

Competitive Landscape

Sustiva (efavirenz), originally developed by DuPont Merck and FDA-approved in September 1998, was the leading non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) at deal time and the dominant once-daily NNRTI backbone in HAART regimens. Sustiva competed against Boehringer Ingelheim's Viramune (nevirapine), Pfizer's Rescriptor (delavirdine, marginal share), and the broader HAART backbone built around GSK's Combivir/Trizivir (AZT/3TC) and Gilead/BMS's Videx and emerging Viread (tenofovir, FDA-approved Oct 2001). Sustiva would later anchor Atripla (efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir, 2006) — the first single-tablet HIV regimen — co-developed by BMS and Gilead. Beyond HIV, the deal added Coumadin (warfarin), the dominant US oral anticoagulant pre-DOAC era serving millions of atrial-fibrillation and VTE patients, and Cardiolite (Tc-99m sestamibi), the gold-standard cardiac SPECT imaging agent. DuPont Pharmaceuticals generated $1.5B in 2000 sales. The deal aligned with BMS CEO Peter Dolan's stated goal to double pharmaceutical sales 2000-2005, strengthening virology and cardiovascular franchises while adding early-stage R&D with claimed first-in-class potential. The transaction closed Oct 1, 2001 and was followed by significant DuPont workforce reductions.