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The scientific journey that resulted in Eliquis  (apixaban), Bristol-Myers Squibb’s new anticoagulation therapy that works by directly inhibiting Factor Xa, dates back to 1994 and a group of dedicated researchers at DuPont Pharmaceuticals, a company Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired in 2001. At that time, Ruth Wexler, Ph.D., led DuPont’s Cardiovascular Chemistry group. “We strongly believed, based on preclinical data, that a high quality Factor Xa inhibitor could be a highly effective anticoagulant with the potential for an improved safety profile,” she says. By 1996, a cross-functional team helped identify the first inhibitors and by early 1998, the first of these entered human trials. Still, the team continued to develop additional Factor Xa inhibitors. Apixaban was synthesized by Michael Orwat (right), then an associate working in the laboratory of Donald Pinto, Ph.D. (left). Today, all three are still working in cardiovascular research at Bristol-Myers Squibb: Pinto, a research fellow in Medicinal Chemistry, and Orwat, a senior research scientist in Pinto’s lab, are helping develop a next generation of medi- cines for thrombosis. And Wexler is executive director in Medicinal Chemistry, leading the group as it develops a new wave of cardiovascular drugs. See a Spe- cial Report beginning on page 5 to learn more about how our company’s efforts in cardiovascular research and on other frontiers of drug development may help patients around the world. 

## ON THE COVER – ELIQUIS – THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY 

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We remain committed to a single overriding mission: to help more patients prevail in their fight against serious diseases. 

The patient stories shared in this Annual Report depict individual patient responses to our medicines or investigational compounds and are not representative of all patient responses. In addition, there is no guarantee that potential drugs or indications still in development will receive regulatory approval. 

