WASHINGTON – Despite representing roughly 12% of the U.S. adult population, in biopharma, Black professionals account for just 7% of the total workforce and 3% of executive teams. Today, in an initiative designed to increase access to and awareness of the biopharma industry among Black talent and build a diverse talent pipeline, Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) announced its collaboration with Howard University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Morgan State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to launch Tomorrow’s Innovators—a multimillion dollar strategic alliance to attract top HBCU-affiliated talent to the bio-pharma industry in the next five years.

Tomorrow’s Innovators extends the health equity and diversity and inclusion commitments announced by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020, which includes the goal of increasing the diversity of the company’s workforce. By the end of 2022, Bristol Myers Squibb aims to double executive representation of Black and Hispanic/Latino employees in the U.S. and achieve gender parity at the executive level globally.

Designed to reach diverse talent sooner in their undergraduate career, Tomorrow’s Innovators will provide them the support and education needed to reach their career goals within the biopharma industry. Through this alliance, Bristol Myers Squibb and the HBCUs seek to:

• design and host specific career-focused workshops for diverse talent
• develop a two-way exchange program with commercial leaders and faculty members to facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration and research development opportunities
• create custom biopharma curriculum to further prepare diverse students for internships and career opportunities within the biopharma sector, which is an area of historical underrepresentation.

“At Bristol Myers Squibb, we believe that bringing innovative medicines to patients requires a workforce with diverse experiences, perspectives and personal backgrounds that reflect the diverse patients and communities we serve around the world,” said Chris Boerner, Executive Vice President, Chief Commercialization Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb. “While there is still more to do in addressing racial and societal equity, programs like Tomorrow’s Innovators provide a critical opportunity to reach diverse talent sooner and cultivate a richer talent pipeline within our industry. When diversity is celebrated and inclusion is intentional, everyone benefits, especially our patients.”

Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer of Howard University, applauded the new initiative. 

“We are delighted that Bristol Myers Squibb has taken this step toward creating a more diverse industry workforce by investing in HBCU students,” Wutoh said. “Howard University has a long history of training students in STEM/science fields and we believe Tomorrow’s Innovators will greatly expand opportunities for our students.”

“The Tomorrow’s Innovators strategic alliance presents a meaningful opportunity to build the talent pipeline that will not only address the lack of representation in the biopharma industry, but also equip the industry to meet the challenges of the future,” said Danielle Winchester, Associate Dean, Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. “It offers another avenue for the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics at North Carolina A&T to develop talented executive leaders who contribute to the global economy.”

“This alliance with Bristol Myers Squibb is a natural area of collaboration for FAMU, given our College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health,” said Larry Robinson, Ph.D. President of Florida A&M University. “We are eager to explore opportunities for faculty research and career development for our students.  FAMU and other HBCUs can be a tremendous source of talent for the bio pharma industry when utilized in this manner. This alliance provides a framework for sustained progress.”

For more information on the Tomorrow’s Innovators program, visit https://www.bms.com/tomorrows-innovators.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media Contact: Sholnn Freeman, sholnn.freeman@howard.edu