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Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Call for Entries for the 2009 REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) "Fight HIV Your Way" Contest

Photographs with essays and videos that express the fight against HIV

April 27, 2009 - PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced the call for entries for the REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) "Fight HIV Your Way" Contest for photographs with essays or videos that express the individual fight against HIV/AIDS of people who are infected with or affected by the disease. The goal of the contest is to help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among the general public and inspire people impacted by the disease to continue their fight. Through May 15, 2009, individuals ages 18 and older can submit entries online at fightHIVyourway.com or mail in their entries.*

An expert panel of judges will evaluate the contest entries based on the impact of the photographs' or videos' visual or verbal expression of how to fight HIV, creativity, originality and overall artistic quality. Contest judges include HIV community advocate Frank Oldham, artist and photographer David Martinez, and POZ magazine editor-in-chief Regan Hofmann.

"From my experience on stage, I know firsthand that visual art provides an outlet for expressing emotions in ways that words simply cannot," said original Broadway Dreamgirl Sheryl Lee Ralph, a spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS Council and creator and producer of the HIV-inspired Broadway shows Divas Simply Singing! and Sometimes I Cry. "I am honored to be involved again this year in the REYATAZ 'Fight HIV Your Way' Contest. I encourage people to enter the contest, as your art will provide courage and strength for others with HIV to break the silence and reduce the stigmas that plague this disease."

Final selection of the two Grand Prize Winners - one video and one photograph - will be determined by the public via online voting. The entries of the Grand Prize Winners and 90 additional Award of Distinction winners will be showcased in a public exhibit in Union Square, San Francisco, from Oct. 27-29, 2009.

Although HIV prevention and management have improved significantly since the beginning of the epidemic, the most recent data from 2006 indicate that approximately 56,300 new infections occur each year in the U.S. alone, and that approximately 1 million people have the disease.1,2

"The statistics on HIV/AIDS in the U.S. underscore the need to continue the public dialogue about this disease - both to help prevent new infections and also to reduce stigma for people living with the disease," said Jill DeSimone, senior vice president, U.S. Virology, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Bristol-Myers Squibb has been committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS over the past 20 years, working to support people living with HIV/AIDS through the development of treatments and through disease awareness efforts such as the 'Fight HIV Your Way' Contest."

For more information on the REYATAZ "Fight HIV Your Way" Contest, including official rules and guidelines, please visit fightHIVyourway.com.

About REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate)

REYATAZ is a protease inhibitor that has been studied extensively in both treatment-naive and treatment-experienced HIV-infected patients and is administered once daily in all patient populations.

Important Information About REYATAZ 200 mg and 300 mg Capsules

REYATAZ is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ has been studied in 48-week trials in both patients who have taken or have never taken anti-HIV medicines.

REYATAZ does not cure HIV or help prevent passing HIV to others.

REYATAZ should not be taken by patients allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.

REYATAZ should not be taken with the following medicines: rifampin, Camptosar® (irinotecan),
Versed® (midazolam) when taken by mouth, Halcion® (triazolam), ergot medicines,
Propulsid® (cisapride), St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum),
Mevacor® (lovastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin), Orap® (pimozide),
Crixivan® (indinavir), or Viramune® (nevirapine).

Patients taking REYATAZ should speak with their healthcare provider before taking the following medicines: hormonal contraceptives such as birth control pills
or contraceptive patch, Viagra® (sildenafil), Levitra® (vardenafil), Cialis® (tadalafil), Vfend® (voriconazole),
AcipHex® (rabeprazole), Nexium® (esomeprazole), Prevacid® (lansoprazole), Prilosec® (omeprazole),
Protonix® (pantoprazole), Axid® (nizatidine),
Pepcid AC® (famotidine), Tagamet® (cimetidine), or Zantac® (ranitidine),
Advair® (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder),
Flonase® or Flovent® (fluticasone propionate), or Sustiva® (efavirenz).

The above lists of medicines are not complete. The use of all prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, herbal supplements, or other health preparations should be discussed with a healthcare provider.

Any side effects, symptoms, or conditions, including the following, should be reported to a healthcare provider right away:

  • 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 two weeks with no change in treatment.
  • Severe rash has occurred in a small number of patients taking REYATAZ. This type of rash is associated with other symptoms which could be serious and potentially cause death. If rash develops with any of the following symptoms, the patient should stop using REYATAZ and call a healthcare provider right away:
    1. 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 the 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 the heart beats may occur and could be a symptom of a heart problem.
  • Diabetes and high blood sugar may occur in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.
  • In patients with liver disease, including hepatitis B or C, the liver disease may get worse when taking anti-HIV medicines like REYATAZ.
  • Kidney stones have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ. Signs or symptoms of kidney stones include pain in the side, blood in the urine, and pain when urinating.
  • End stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis.
  • 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.

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

    REYATAZ should be taken once daily with food (a meal or snack). REYATAZ and other anti-HIV medicines should be taken exactly as instructed by healthcare providers.

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

    REYATAZ is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. SUSTIVA is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and not of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

    About Bristol-Myers Squibb

    Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life. For more information, visit www.bms.com.

    1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimates of New HIV Infections in the United States. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; August 2008. Available at www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/factsheets/pdf/incidence.pdf. Accessed March 2009.

    2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Estimates of U.S. HIV Prevalence, 2006. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; October 2008. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/factsheets/pdf/prevalence.pdf. Accessed March 2009.

    *Mail-in entry forms can be obtained by writing to: "2009 HIV Photo & Video Contest," Dept. 5918, PO Box 5008, Stacy, MN 55079-5008 or by visiting fightHIVyourway.com.

    ###

    Contacts

    Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
    Media
    Cristi Barnett, 609-252-6028
    cristi.barnett@bms.com
    or
    Investors
    John Elicker, 609-252-4611
    john.elicker@bms.com

    Reproduced with permission - "Bristol-Myers Squibb Company"

    Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
    www.bms.com


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