Bristol Myers Squibb halts autoimmune drug trials after deaths and life-threatening side effects
Bristol Myers Squibb paused its closely watched autoimmune drug research in early June 2026 due to life-threatening side effects, but waited three months to disclose the suspension to the public. Similarly, Novartis paused trials for a comparable autoimmune therapy in August 2026 after three patient deaths, confirming the halt only after a Wall Street analyst discovered it in a database.
Bristol Myers Squibb trial suspension
▪Bristol Myers Squibb notified regulators, researchers, and patient-advocacy groups of its drug research pause in early June 2026
▪Bristol Myers Squibb paused its closely watched autoimmune drug research in early June 2026
Delayed public disclosure practices
▪Bristol Myers Squibb waited three months after pausing its drug research in early June 2026 before sharing the suspension with the broader public
▪Novartis waited one week to publicly reveal that three study patients had died in its clinical trials after pausing its research in August 2026
Life-threatening side effects
▪Bristol Myers Squibb paused its closely watched autoimmune drug research in early June 2026
▪The paused clinical trials conducted by Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis both targeted autoimmune diseases
Novartis parallel research pause
▪Novartis paused research into an autoimmune therapy similar to Bristol Myers Squibb's in August 2026
▪Three study patients died during the Novartis clinical trials, leading to the company pausing its research in August 2026
▪Novartis confirmed its August 2026 research pause only after a Wall Street analyst discovered the change while scouring a database
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