Around the world, our innovative medicines help millions of people in their fight against serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis B and psychiatric disorders. We may never know every patient whose life we touch, but each has a story to tell.

I invite you to listen to some of those stories, which appear on our website and on http://prevail.bms.com.

Our mission is to extend and enhance human life, and every day Bristol-Myers Squibb employees demonstrate their commitment to that mission. While we trace our beginnings back 150 years to a small brick building in Brooklyn, New York, we have become a global biopharmaceutical leader for the future. By uniquely combining the reach and resources of a major pharmaceutical company with the can-do spirit and agility of an innovative biotechnology company, we are transforming into a new kind of enterprise – a next-generation BioPharma leader.

Already, our transformation is beginning to show results. Since 2002, we’ve introduced nine new products for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psychiatric disorders, HIV and other serious diseases. Two of the medications are biologic products. In the fight against serious disease, biologics – or protein-derived therapies – are playing an increasingly prominent role.

Other biologics, as well as scores of other investigational medicines, are advancing through our R&D pipeline. Bristol-Myers Squibb is recognized as having one of the most productive and promising pipelines in the industry. And we are complementing our internal capabilities with innovative alliances, partnerships and acquisitions.

Pursuing our mission also means working hard to expand patient access to medicines. We’re striving toward this goal through public/private partnerships like SECURE THE FUTURE, our pioneering $150 million HIV/AIDS program in Africa, and through programs like the Bristol-Myers Squibb Patient Assistance Foundation and Together Rx Access. Last year, the foundation assisted an estimated 274,000 patients with free medications valued at approximately $226 million at wholesale list price.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is building its future growth and leadership by renewing and strengthening our corporate culture. We’re committed to recruiting, retaining and developing top talent with a diversity of background and experience, and we offer an array of career development and advancement opportunities, and a performance management system that rewards behaviors as well as results.

In short, Bristol-Myers Squibb is a great place to work. We’ve been consistently honored by the National Association of Female Executives as one of the Top 30 Companies for Executive Women; and by Working Mother magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. Also, we’re ranked by Science magazine and The Scientist as among the best places to work in biotechnology, life sciences and pharmaceutical research.

What sets Bristol-Myers Squibb apart? It’s our focus on finding innovative medicines to combat serious diseases, and getting them to patients faster and more efficiently. We do it for our patients, our shareholders and indeed for us all.