Bristol-Myers Squibb Is Fourth Major Drug Company to Face
HIV/AIDS Drug Resolution Backed By Religious Investors

First-Year Resolution Gets Solid 7.2 Percent Level of Support;
Vote Reflects Growing Institutional Investor Support for Action on Pandemic

WILMINGTON, DE and NEW YORK, NY///May 4, 2004 ///Religious and other concerned shareholders announced that a preliminary total of 7.2 percent of votes cast at Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today supported a first-year proxy resolution calling for a report on the economic impact the AIDS pandemic will have on the pharmaceutical company and its shareholders.

A first-year support level of 3 percent is required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for this proxy resolution to be reintroduced at Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2005.

The resolution, filed by the Society of Jesus - Detroit Province, a member of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), calls on Bristol-Myers Squibb to "review the economic effects of the HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria pandemics on the company's business strategy, and its initiatives to date, and report to shareholders within six months following the 2004 annual meeting." The vote at Bristol-Myers Squibb is last in a series of four such shareholder resolution votes at major pharmaceutical companies, a group that also includes Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). The preliminary proxy vote totals supporting the same resolution filed at the other three drug companies were: Abbott Labs, 8 percent; Pfizer, 9.8 percent; and Merck, 13.9 percent.

Doris Gormley, representing several provinces of the Society of Jesus, said: "Bristol-Myers Squibb is the last in a group of four shareholder resolutions filed by ICCR members on the pandemic of HIV and AIDS - especially in Africa. These are the four major HIV drug-makers in the country and it is time they respond. The risk Bristol-Myers Squibb faces in relation to the pandemic in emerging markets is a huge one. The board of directors of this company is responsible to its investor-owners as well as to those battling the disease - we all need to know they have implemented effective policies for dealing with the challenges of the HIV/AIDS pandemic."

Even though HIV medicines can turn AIDS from a death sentence into a chronic disease, only 4 percent of the estimated 40 million world citizens suffering from HIV/AIDS have access to the life-saving medicines. Of that total, 95 percent of the victims live in the developing world where major pharmaceutical companies have been faulted for not doing enough to make HIV/AIDS medications more readily available to the millions who need them.

The filers of the resolution are: ASC Investment Group; Benedictine Srs. of Mt. Angel; Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, St. Joseph Province; Dominican Srs. of Springfield Illinois; Dominican Srs. of Great Bend, KS; Ethical Funds; Sinsinawa Dominicans; School Srs. of Notre Dame of St. Louis; Society of Jesus - Canada Province; Society of Jesus - Chicago Province; Society of Jesus - Detroit Province; Society of Jesus - Maryland Province; Society of Jesus - Missouri Province; Society of Jesus - New Orleans Province; Society of Jesus - New York Province; Society of Jesus - Oregon Province; Society of Jesus - Wisconsin Province; Srs. of Charity of St. Elizabeth, NJ; Srs. of St. Dominic of Caldwell, NJ; Srs. of St. Francis-Dubuque, Iowa; and Srs. of St. Francis of Philadelphia.

ABOUT THE GROUPS

The Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus is one of ten Jesuit provinces across the USA and in Upper Canada who have taken the AIDS pandemic as their #1 priority advocacy initiative. The AIDS population most at risk is the poor, especially women and children. The Society of Jesus worldwide has been called by the international Jesuit Community "to advocate for change in unjust corporate decisions and values which hinder the reconciliation of the world to God".

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is an association of 275 faith-based institutional investors, including national denominations, religious communities, pension funds, endowments, hospital corporations, economic development funds and publishing companies. ICCR and its members press companies to be socially and environmentally responsible. Each year ICCR-member religious institutional investors sponsor over 100 shareholder resolutions on major social and environmental issues. The combined portfolio value of ICCR's member organizations is estimated to be $110 billion.

CONTACT: Stephanie Kendall, for ICCR, (703) 276-3254 or skendall@hastingsgroup.com.