Bristol-Myers Squibb vs Hitachi: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Hitachi side by side

1. 1858Bristol-Myers Squibb

   Edward Robinson Squibb opens his Brooklyn laboratory

   Navy surgeon Edward Robinson Squibb started making pure ether and other medicines in Brooklyn. The laboratory burned down on Christmas Eve 1858 and reopened in 1859 after local doctors and surgeons contributed $2,100.

2. 1887Bristol-Myers Squibb

   Bristol and Myers buy the Clinton Pharmaceutical Company

   Hamilton College graduates William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers bought the Clinton Pharmaceutical Company of Clinton, New York, the business that became Bristol-Myers.

3. 1898Bristol-Myers Squibb

   Bristol, Myers and Company is named

   The founders renamed the business Bristol, Myers and Company in May 1898. After Myers died in 1899 it became Bristol-Myers, which built national brands in Sal Hepatica and, from 1901, Ipana toothpaste.

4. 1910Hitachi

   Founding and First Induction Motor

   Namihei Odaira establishes the machinery repair shop that becomes Hitachi, and develops Japan's first 5-horsepower induction motor, establishing the foundation for the company's dominance in electrical engineering.

5. 1932Hitachi

   Expansion into Railway Technology

   Hitachi begins manufacturing electric locomotives and rail signaling systems, establishing a deep, institutionalized relationship with the Japanese national railway network that would evolve into the modern Hitachi Rail division.

6. 1944Bristol-Myers Squibb

   Penicillin at wartime scale

   Squibb opened what was then the world's largest penicillin plant in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Bristol-Myers had bought Cheplin Biological Laboratories in East Syracuse, New York, in 1943 and converted it to penicillin for Allied forces.

7. 1959Hitachi

   Entry into Computing and Electronics

   Hitachi develops its first electronic computer, the HITAC, marking the company's strategic entry into the information technology sector and laying the groundwork for its future digital systems business.

8. 1989Bristol-Myers Squibb

   Bristol-Myers and Squibb merge

   Bristol-Myers and Squibb combined to form Bristol-Myers Squibb, uniting a consumer and pharmaceutical company with a research-led drugmaker.

9. 2006Bristol-Myers Squibb

   CEO Peter Dolan removed over the Plavix deal

   After an FBI raid in July 2006 over a patent settlement with generic maker Apotex on the blood thinner Plavix, the federal monitor urged the board to remove CEO Peter Dolan, who stepped down on September 12, 2006.

10. 2009Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Medarex bought and Mead Johnson split off

    BMS bought Medarex, gaining Yervoy and a share of what became Opdivo, and split off Mead Johnson Nutrition in an exchange offer, completing its shift to a specialty biopharmaceutical company.

11. 2011Bristol-Myers Squibb

    FDA approves Yervoy

    Yervoy (ipilimumab) became the first drug shown to extend overall survival in advanced melanoma, opening BMS's immuno-oncology franchise.

12. 2012Bristol-Myers Squibb

    FDA approves Eliquis

    The FDA approved Eliquis (apixaban), developed with Pfizer, in December 2012 for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation. It became BMS's largest product, with $14.4 billion of sales in 2025.

13. 2014Bristol-Myers Squibb

    FDA approves Opdivo

    The FDA approved the PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) in December 2014 for advanced melanoma. It reached $10.0 billion of sales in 2025.

14. 2016Hitachi

    Toshiaki Higashihara becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Higashihara became CEO of Hitachi in 2016. Shifted Hitachi from a sprawling conglomerate toward infrastructure and digital businesses.

15. 2019Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Celgene acquisition closes

    BMS completed its $74 billion purchase of Celgene on November 20, 2019, adding Revlimid, Pomalyst, Reblozyl and CAR-T programs. Celgene sold Otezla to Amgen for $13.4 billion to win regulatory approval.

16. 2020Bristol-Myers Squibb

    MyoKardia deal and a GAAP loss

    BMS bought MyoKardia for $13.1 billion, gaining mavacamten (Camzyos). The deal's $11.4 billion in-process R&D charge pushed 2020 to a net loss despite $42.5 billion of revenue.

17. 2020Hitachi

    Acquisition of ABB's Power Grids Business

    Hitachi executes the $11 billion acquisition of ABB's Power Grids business, renaming it Hitachi Energy and instantly establishing the company as the global leader in HVDC transmission and grid infrastructure.

18. 2021Hitachi

    Acquisition of GlobalLogic

    The company acquires the global digital engineering firm GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion, instantly establishing Hitachi as a top-tier provider of advanced software and product design services for the automotive and telecommunications sectors.

19. 2022Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Turning Point bought as Revlimid generics arrive

    BMS completed the $4.1 billion purchase of Turning Point Therapeutics in August 2022 while volume-limited generic lenalidomide began eroding Revlimid, which had peaked at $12.8 billion in 2021.

20. 2022Hitachi

    Hitachi Construction Machinery Stake Sale

    Hitachi sold a controlling stake in Hitachi Construction Machinery to Itochu and Japan Industrial Partners, part of its exit from cyclical listed subsidiaries.

21. 2023Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Chris Boerner becomes CEO

    Chris Boerner succeeded Giovanni Caforio as chief executive in November 2023 and became board chair on April 1, 2024. Weeks earlier BMS had agreed to buy Mirati, and in December it agreed to buy Karuna and RayzeBio.

22. 2024Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Karuna, Mirati and RayzeBio close; Cobenfy approved

    The three deals closed between January and March 2024. On September 26, 2024 the FDA approved Cobenfy, the first schizophrenia drug that targets muscarinic rather than dopamine receptors. The Karuna charge produced an $8.9 billion net loss for 2024.

23. 2024Hitachi

    Acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems

    Hitachi acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems. Hitachi Rail completed its ~$1.88 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) acquisition of Thales's Ground Transportation Systems business, its rail signalling division, expanding Hitachi Rail to 51 countries and shiftin…

24. 2025Bristol-Myers Squibb

    BioNTech partnership, Orbital deal and $48.2B revenue

    BMS agreed in June 2025 to co-develop BioNTech's bispecific BNT327 and in October 2025 to buy Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion. Full-year revenue was $48.2 billion with the Growth Portfolio up 17 percent.

25. 2025Hitachi

    Toshiaki Tokunaga Becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Tokunaga became President and CEO on April 1, 2025, succeeding Keiji Kojima, who became Executive Chairman.

26. 2026Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Guidance raised and merger reports denied

    On July 30, 2026 BMS raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $49.0 to $50.0 billion after second-quarter revenue of $12.97 billion. In August, reports of AstraZeneca merger talks were followed by a senior source telling Reuters there were no discussions.

27. 2026Hitachi

    Record Results and Home Appliance Sale

    Hitachi reported record FY2025 profit in April 2026 and agreed to sell 80.1% of its home appliance business to Nojima for about $737 million (¥110 billion).

Acquisitions

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