Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) is the only U.S. drugmaker among the top 12 to decline in trading this year, and investors and analysts say they don’t expect a comeback in 2012 because of drug pipeline setbacks. Bristol-Myers has fallen 6.1 percent this year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Pharmaceutical Index has surged 13 percent. For the New York-based company, the drop is a stark contrast to 2011, when it rode the promise of new products for cardiovascular disease, hepatitis C and cancer to a 33 percent increase that led the industry. That promise has failed to materialize. The hepatitis C medicine fell victim to safety issues that caused the company to drop development, and the blood thinner has been slowed by regulatory delays that may open it to unexpected early competition. As a result, the shares, which remain the most expensive among its index peers, may still be overvalued, said Mark Schoenebaum, an analyst with ISI Group in New York.
