US headquarters in Summit, New Jersey

The company's Summit headquarters are located along the 7.3-mile main line of the abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad. Some have advocated for the railbed's conversion to a pedestrian and cyclist linear park and rail trail.^{[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]}

Acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb

In January 2019, the company announced it would be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb for $74 billion ($95 billion including debt),^[39] a deal that would become the largest pharmaceutical company acquisition ever.^[40] Celgene shareholders would receive one BMY share as well as $50 in cash for each Celgene share held, valuing Celgene at $102.43 a share; representing a 54% premium to the previous days closing price.^[40] The activist investor Starboard Value LP opposed the deal, nominating five alternative potential directors on the Bristol-Myers board.^[41] The deal was approved by shareholders in April 2019.^[42]

In August 2019, Amgen announced it would acquire the Otezla drug programme from Celgene for $13.4 billion, as part of Celgene and Bristol-Myers Squibb's merger deal. The Bristol-Myers acquisition closed on November 20, 2019.^[43]

In November 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) announced that it has completed its acquisition of Celgene following the receipt of regulatory approval from all government authorities required by the merger agreement and, as announced on April 12, 2019, approval by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene stockholders.^[2]

Company origin and acquisition history

The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors (this is not a comprehensive list):

Executive history

In March 2016, Bob Hugin, the company's long serving CEO, retired from his position and took the role of executive chairman.^[44] Bob Hugin was succeeded in the CEO role by Mark Alles.^[44] At the same time, Jacqualyn Fouse was named as the company's president and COO; Fouse had joined the company in 2010 as the CFO.^[44] Effective June 30, 2017, Dr. Fouse will purportedly step down and be succeeded by Scott Smith, president of the company's Global Inflammation & Immunology Franchise, who joined the company in 2008.^[44] Dr. Fouse has been voted out by the board of directors on 2 April 2018.

Product-related history

In July 1998, Celgene received approval from the FDA to market Thalomid for the acute treatment of the cutaneous manifestations of moderate to severe ENL.^[48]

In April 2000, Celgene reached an agreement with Novartis Pharma AG to license d-MPH, Celgene's chirally pure version of RITALIN. The FDA subsequently granted approval to market d-MPH, or Focalin, in November 2001.^[49]

In December 2005, Celgene received approval from the FDA to market Revlimid for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent anemia due to Low- or Intermediate-1-risk MDS associated with a deletion 5q cytogenetic abnormality with or without additional cytogenetic abnormalities. Focalin XR was later launched by Celgene and Novartis in 2005.^[50]

In May 2006, Celgene received approval for Thalomid in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

In June 2007, Celgene received full marketing authorization for Revlimid in combination with dexamethasone as a treatment for patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy by the European Commission.

Antitrust allegations

In 2009, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories requested, and Celgene refused to provide, a samples of Celgene's anticancer drug THALOMID (thalidomide). Dr. Reddy's Laboratories sought the material for bioequivalency studies required to bring its own, generic, version of thalidomide to market. In response to the refusal, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories filed a Citizen's Petition with the FDA asking the Agency to adopt procedures that would ensure generic applicants the right to buy sufficient samples to perform bioequivalence testing of drugs that were subject to REMS distribution restrictions.

Celgene denied that it had behaved anti-competitively, arguing that the legislative history strongly suggested that Congress considered and rejected a proposed guaranteed access procedure like the one proposed by Dr. Reddy's. Celgene further argued that requiring innovator companies to sell their products to potential generic competitors would violate its intellectual property rights and subject it to liability risks in the event that patients were harmed in Dr. Reddy's studies.

In 2018, Celgene was at the top of a list of companies that the FDA identified as refusing to release samples to competitors to create generics.^[53]

Generic manufacturer Lannett Company initiated antitrust litigation that accused Celgene of using its REMS for THALOMID (thalidomide) to violate the anti-monopolization provisions of the Sherman Act. In early 2011, the district court denied Celgene's motion to dismiss. The case was set for trial beginning in February 2012, but the parties settled before the trial began, thereby postponing further judicial review of antitrust claims premised on alleged abuse of REMS distribution restrictions.^[54]

Fraud allegations

In July 2017, Celgene agreed to pay $280 million to government agencies to settle allegations that it caused the submission of false claims or fraudulent claims for non-reimbursable uses of its drugs Revlimid and Thalomid to Medicare and state Medicaid programs.^[55] In its July 2017 10-Q, Celgene disclosed that it resolved the matter in full for $315 million, including fees and expenses.^[56] The case was brought under the False Claims Act by Beverly Brown, a former Celgene sales representative.^[57]