AstraZeneca and BMS Reportedly in $400bn Merger Talks

Tuesday 4th August, 2026

AstraZeneca has explored a potential combination with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), a megadeal that would create a drugmaker with a combined value of close to $400 billion, according to reports.

BMS is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey and is known for its cancer treatments.

Sources first cited by the Financial Times suggested that the companies have held early-stage talks on a potential tie-up in recent months, although it is unclear whether an agreement will be reached.

A tie-up would be one of the biggest ever pharmaceutical deals and would create the world’s fourth largest drugmaker by market value. BMS, which has a market value of about $133 billion would also provide AstraZeneca with a bigger foothold in the US.

Both companies having checkpoint inhibitors competing across lung cancer and other solid tumours, BMS's Opdivo (nivolumab) and AstraZeneca's Imfinzi (durvalumab), BMO Capital Markets said the “significant business overlap” could complicate the deal and trigger antitrust scrutiny, reported in FirstWord Pharma.