Bristol-Myers Squibb announces winners of “Fight HIV Your Way” contest

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced the 10 first-place winners of the 2011 REYATAZ “Fight HIV Your Way” contest. The contest uses the power of words and visual arts as a platform to help raise awareness and lessen the stigma surrounding HIV. Bristol-Myers Squibb launched the 2011 contest on December 1, 2010 (World AIDS Day) and called for people infected with or affected by HIV to illustrate – through a photo and essay – how they fight HIV their way. The ten winning entries will now serve as inspiration for a new Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater work. Ailey will premiere the new work on World AIDS Day 2011, and it will be performed across the country as part of the Company’s 2011-2012 season.

REYATAZ is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat people 6 years of age and older who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ should not be taken if patients are allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.

“I was moved by the ‘Fight HIV Your Way’ contest and all who so generously shared their uplifting essays and photos that express the powerful energy and individual journeys of the many people who are touched by HIV,” said Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Contest Judge. “Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has a long history of using dance to shine a light on significant issues – an ongoing tradition that is deeply aligned with this important initiative.”

Despite major advances since the early days of the HIV epidemic, and the first diagnosis 30 years ago, the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that in the U.S. approximately 50,000 new infections occur each year and every nine and a half minutes someone new is infected with the disease.

“There is an ongoing need for public awareness programs, such as the REYATAZ ‘Fight HIV Your Way’ contest, that bring HIV to the forefront. In its third installment, this contest continues to shed light on the disease and reinforces our longstanding commitment to raising awareness of, and reducing the stigma around, HIV,” said Raymond Sacchetti, senior vice president, U.S. Virology, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “Bristol-Myers Squibb is energized by the level of engagement in this year’s contest, and we are proud to be able to provide a channel for so many individuals impacted by HIV to share their personal stories.”

“With his unique and contemporary perspective, Rennie Harris will bring to the stage these stories that must be told and ought to be recognized,” shared Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Artistic Director Robert Battle. “The world premiere of this new work, entitled Home, will take place on a day of major significance, December 1, both World AIDS Day and the day we lost our founder Alvin Ailey to the disease 22 years ago. The collaboration will be a celebration of many lives, and a driver of understanding and acceptance for those touched by HIV.”

More than 1,300 photos and essays from across the country were narrowed down to ten exceptional first place winners. These stories stem from geographically diverse communities and illustrate the impact and breadth of the HIV epidemic in the United States. The winners include: David Fairman (Fort Myers, FL), Michael Gomez (Van Nuys, CA), Jack R. Miller (Perth Amboy, NJ), James R. Dustin (Atlanta, GA), John Perkins (Huntsville, AL), Chace C. (Akron, OH), Sherry Meltz (Roswell, GA), Kurt Weston (Huntington Beach, CA), and La’Nette Buras (Loranger, LA).

The winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges, including Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Frank Oldham, Executive Director of the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-U.S.), and Regan Hofmann, Editor-in-Chief of POZ magazine. The contest entries were evaluated based on the impact of the photographs’ and essays’ visual and verbal expression of the fight against HIV, creativity, originality and overall artistic quality.

Visit www.fightHIVyourway.com to see the winning photos and essays of the REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) “Fight HIV Your Way” contest.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION About REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate)

INDICATION: REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat people 6 years of age and older who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ has been studied in a 48-week trial in patients who have taken anti-HIV medicines and a 96-week trial in patients who have never taken anti-HIV medicines.

REYATAZ does not cure HIV or lower your chance of passing HIV to others. People taking REYATAZ may still get opportunistic infections or other conditions that happen with HIV infection.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

Do not take REYATAZ if you are allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.

Do not take REYATAZ if you are taking the following medicines due to potential for serious, life-threatening side effects or death:

Versed® (midazolam) when taken by mouth, Halcion® (triazolam), ergot medicines (dihydroergotamine, ergonovine, ergotamine, and methylergonovine such as Cafergot®, Migranal®, D.H.E. 45®, ergotrate maleate, Methergine®, and others), Propulsid® (cisapride), or Orap® (pimozide).

Do not take REYATAZ with the following medicines due to potential for serious side effects: Camptosar® (irinotecan), Crixivan® (indinavir), Mevacor® (lovastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin), Uroxatral® (alfuzosin), or Revatio® (sildenafil).

Do not take REYATAZ with the following medicines as they may lower the amount of REYATAZ in your blood, which may lead to increased HIV viral load and resistance to REYATAZ or other anti-HIV medicines: rifampin (also known as Rimactane®, Rifadin®, Rifater®, or Rifamate®), St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)-containing products, or Viramune® (nevirapine).

Serevent Diskus® (salmeterol) and Advair® (salmeterol with fluticasone) are not recommended with REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate).

Do not take Vfend® (voriconazole) if you are taking REYATAZ and Norvir® (ritonavir).

The above lists of medicines are not complete. Taking REYATAZ with some other medicines may require your therapy to be monitored more closely or may require a change in dose or dose schedule of REYATAZ or the other medicine. Discuss with your healthcare provider all prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamin and herbal supplements, or other health preparations you are taking or plan to take.

Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. REYATAZ use during pregnancy has not been associated with an increase in birth defects. Pregnant women have experienced serious side effects when taking REYATAZ with other HIV medicines called nucleoside analogues. After your baby is born, tell your healthcare provider if your baby’s skin or the white part of his/her eyes turns yellow. You should not breast-feed if you are HIV-positive.

Also tell your healthcare provider if you have end-stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis or severe liver dysfunction.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any side effects, symptoms, or conditions, including the following:

• Mild rash (redness and itching) without other symptoms sometimes occurs in patients taking REYATAZ, most often in the first few weeks after the medicine is started, and usually goes away within 2 weeks with no change in treatment.
• Severe rash may develop with other symptoms that could be serious and potentially cause death. If you develop a rash with any of the following symptoms, stop using REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) and call your healthcare provider right away:
• Shortness of breath
• General ill-feeling or “flu-like” symptoms
• Fever
• Muscle or joint aches
• Conjunctivitis (red or inflamed eyes, like “pink-eye”)
• Blisters
• Mouth sores
• Swelling of your face
• Yellowing of the skin and/or eyes may occur due to increases in bilirubin levels in the blood (bilirubin is made by the liver).
• A change in the way your heart beats may occur. You may feel dizzy or lightheaded. These could be symptoms of a heart problem.
• Diabetes and high blood sugar may occur in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ. Some patients may need changes in their diabetes medicine.
• If you have liver disease, including hepatitis B or C, it may get worse when you take anti-HIV medicines like REYATAZ.
• Kidney stones have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ. Signs or symptoms of kidney stones include pain in your side, blood in your urine, and pain when you urinate.
• Some patients with hemophilia have increased bleeding problems with protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.
• Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking anti-HIV medicines. The cause and long-term effects are not known at this time.
• Immune reconstitution syndrome has been seen in some patients with advanced HIV infection (AIDS) and a history of opportunistic infection. Signs and symptoms of inflammation from previous infections may occur soon after starting anti-HIV treatment, including REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate).
• Gallbladder disorders (including gallstones and gallbladder inflammation) have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ.

Other common side effects of REYATAZ taken with other anti-HIV medicines include: nausea; headache; stomach pain; vomiting; diarrhea; depression; fever; dizziness; trouble sleeping; numbness, tingling, or burning of hands or feet; and muscle pain.

You should take REYATAZ once daily with food (a meal or snack). Swallow the capsules whole; do not open the capsules. You should take REYATAZ and your other anti-HIV medicines exactly as instructed by your healthcare provider.

Available REYATAZ capsule strengths include 200 mg and 300 mg.

Please see accompanying Full Prescribing Information, or visit http://www.REYATAZ.com or http://www.bms.com.