B-MS board could replace CEO?

The Wall Street Journal, after a hard-hitting article criticizing the management ability of Bristol-Myers Squibb chief executive Peter Dolan, most recently for allowing the loss of marketing exclusivity for the blockbuser blood-thinning drug Plavix (clopidogrel) on August 17, next day said that the firm's board is open to replacing the CEO, citing an unnamed source.

B-MS stock has fallen 20% over the past three weeks following: the announcment of a criminal investigation; state attorneys general rejecting the proposed deal between it, the drug's originator Sanofi-Aventis and Canadian generics firm Apotex delaying introduction of a copy version launch of Plavix; and Apotex going ahead with a launch regardless of being at risk of litigation (Marketletters passim). According to the WSJ report, the B-MS board has not found any evidence of misconduct, but the failed settlement threatens a large part of the firm's annual $3.8 billion in Plavix revenue.