Verona Pharma Reports Strong Ohtuvayre™ Launch and Provides Preliminary Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Highlights
07 Janeiro 2025 - 8:00AM
Verona Pharma plc (Nasdaq: VRNA) (“Verona Pharma” or the
“Company”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory
diseases, announces preliminary unaudited net product sales for the
fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024, and provides
a corporate update.
“2024 was another transformational year for
Verona with the approval and US launch of Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine)
for the maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (“COPD”),” said David Zaccardelli, Pharm. D., President and
Chief Executive Officer. “We are very pleased to report the
exceptionally strong start to the launch of Ohtuvayre continues
with more than 3,500 unique healthcare professionals (“HCPs”)
prescribing Ohtuvayre and over 16,000 prescriptions filled of which
approximately one-third were patient refills in 2024. During these
initial 20 weeks, key metrics showed month over month growth
including number of unique prescribers, new patient prescriptions,
refill prescriptions, and net sales while maintaining approximately
two weeks of inventory at the specialty pharmacies. Specifically,
filled prescriptions increased by over 35% each month in the fourth
quarter and physicians continued to prescribe Ohtuvayre across a
broad COPD population including those receiving background single,
dual and triple therapy.
“We recorded net product sales of approximately
$36 million in the fourth quarter and $42 million for full year
2024. While it is still early in the launch, feedback from HCPs and
patients is consistently positive including robust refill rates,
and increasing prescriber depth with over 150 HCPs prescribing
Ohtuvayre to more than 20 patients in their practice. These trends
reinforce our belief that Ohtuvayre’s bronchodilator and
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory activity can re-define the COPD
treatment paradigm. We are excited by the initial impact of
Ohtuvayre and look forward to building on this momentum in
2025.”
Program Updates and Key
Milestones
- Ohtuvayre’s product
specific J-code, J7601, became effective on January 1, 2025.
- In November
2024, the Company completed enrollment in a Phase 2 dose-ranging
trial with glycopyrrolate, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist
(“LAMA”), supporting a fixed-dose combination program for the
maintenance treatment of COPD via a nebulizer. Results will support
initiation of a Phase 2b trial with a fixed dose combination of
ensifentrine with glycopyrrolate in the third quarter of 2025.
- The Company
continues to enroll subjects in a Phase 2 trial to assess the
efficacy and safety of nebulized ensifentrine in patients with
non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (“NCFBE”).
Preliminary Fourth
Quarter 2024 Financial
Results
- Cash
position: Although the Company has not finalized its full
financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended
December 31, 2024, the Company expects to report that its cash and
cash equivalents at December 31, 2024, were approximately $400
million (December 31, 2023: $271.8 million). The Company sold $100
million of its ordinary shares, in the form of ADSs, under its “at
the market” equity offering program with Jefferies at an average
price of $39.35 per ADS (equivalent to $4.92 per ordinary share) in
the fourth quarter of 2024.
- Product
sales: The Company expects to report that net product
sales were approximately $36 million for the fourth quarter
ended December 31, 2024 (Q4 2023: $0 million) related to product
sales of Ohtuvayre. The Company received FDA approval on June 26,
2024 and the product was commercially available beginning in August
2024.
Set forth in this release are certain estimated
preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal
year ended December 31, 2024. These estimates are based on the
information available to the Company at this time. The Company’s
financial closing procedures for the fourth quarter and full year
2024 are not yet complete and, as a result, actual results may vary
from the estimated preliminary results presented here due to the
completion of the Company’s financial closing and review
procedures, the execution of the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting, final adjustments and other developments that
may arise between now and the time the financial results for the
fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, are
finalized. The estimated preliminary financial results have not
been audited or reviewed by the Company’s independent registered
public accounting firm. These estimates should not be viewed as a
substitute for the Company’s full interim or annual financial
statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on
this preliminary data.
For further information please contact:
Verona Pharma plc |
Tel: +1-844-341-9901 |
Victoria Stewart, Senior Director of Investor Relations and
Communications |
IR@veronapharma.com |
Argot Partners US Investor Enquiries |
Tel: +1-212-600-1902 verona@argotpartners.com |
Ten Bridge Communications International / US Media
Enquiries |
Tel: +1-781-316-4424 tbcverona@tenbridgecommunications.com |
Wendy Ryan |
|
About Verona Pharma
Verona Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for
the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases with significant
unmet medical needs. OhtuvayreTM (ensifentrine) is the Company’s
first commercial product and the first inhaled therapy for the
maintenance treatment of COPD that combines bronchodilator and
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory activities in one molecule.
Ensifentrine has potential applications in non-cystic fibrosis
bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, asthma and other respiratory
diseases. For more information, please
visit www.veronapharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, as amended. All statements contained in this
press release other than statements of historical fact should be
considered forward-looking statements. Words such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “potential,”
“prepare,” “possible” and similar words and expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding the potential benefits and efficacy of our
drug Ohtuvayre to treat adult patients in the US with COPD, our
anticipated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year
ended December 31, 2024, the commercial growth of Ohtuvayre, and
statements regarding our two recently initiated Phase 2 clinical
trials.
These forward-looking statements are based on
management's current expectations. These statements are neither
promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual
results, performance or achievements to be materially different
from our expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to, the following: risks
related to the completion of closing and review procedures and the
execution of our internal control of financial reporting; our
limited operating history; our need for additional funding to
complete development and commercialization of Ohtuvayre which may
not be available and which may force us to delay, reduce or
eliminate our development or commercialization efforts; our
reliance on the success of Ohtuvayre, our only commercial product;
our reliance on third-party manufacturers and suppliers; the
efficacy of Ohtuvayre compared to competing drugs; our ability to
successfully commercialize Ohtuvayre; serious adverse, undesirable
or unacceptable side effects associated with Ohtuvayre which could
adversely affect our ability to commercialize Ohtuvayre; failure to
develop Ohtuvayre for additional indications, alternate delivery
methods, or as a combination therapy; failure to obtain approval
for and commercialize Ohtuvayre in multiple major pharmaceutical
markets; our commercial capabilities and infrastructure, including
sales, marketing, operations, distribution, and reimbursement
infrastructure, may not be adequate to successfully commercialize
Ohtuvayre; lawsuits related to patents covering Ohtuvayre and the
potential for our patents to be found invalid or unenforceable;
lawsuits related to our licensing of patents and know-how from
third parties for the commercialization of Ohtuvayre; changes in
our tax rates, unavailability of certain tax credits or reliefs or
exposure to additional tax liabilities or assessments that could
affect our profitability, and audits by tax authorities that could
result in additional tax payments for prior periods; the terms of
our credit agreement and the revenue interest purchase and sale
agreement ("RIPSA”) place restrictions on our operating and
financial flexibility, and if we fail to comply with certain
covenants in the RIPSA, our results of operations and financial
condition may be harmed; our vulnerability to natural disasters,
global economic factors, geo-political actions and unexpected
events, including health epidemics or pandemics; and the other
important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30,
2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on
November 4, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time
in our other filings with the SEC. We disclaim any obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this
press release, even if subsequent events cause our views to change,
except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as
of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
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