Former shareholders of Padlock Therapeutics, an autoimmune biotech that Bristol Myers Squibb bought for up to $600M in 2016, are suing the large pharma over disputes about a milestone payment and claims of maneuvers to discredit the biotech’s work. “The larger issue here is that the success of our whole industry is built on deals like this,” Michael Gilman, the founder of Padlock (currently CEO of Arrakis), said in an emailed statement to Endpoints News. He said he's "thrilled BMS is taking one of the Padlock antibodies into the clinic," and the work his team did at the startup is still "the most important piece of biology I've worked on in my career." But BMS disagrees over a milestone payment that former Padlock shareholders believe they're owed. A spokesperson for the pharma giant told Endpoints it "has always complied with its obligations in connection with its acquisition of Padlock" and "will respond to these allegations in court.” BMS is also being sued by former shareholders of another biotech it bought, Celgene, over claims of delayed approval filings to avoid having to make payments. #padlocktherapeutics #padlock #bristolmyerssquibb #bms #pharmalawsuit #autoimmunediseases
