Helen Torley
Analyst · JPMorgan. Please go ahead
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Let me begin with what I think is a three key takeaways for today’s call. Firstly, regarding our financials, we finished 2015 in line with our guidance, well-financed for 2016 plans, and with strong momentum in both pillars of our strategy. Secondly, in our oncology pillar, where our lead product is our investigational new drug PEGPH20, we’re on schedule to initiate our pivotal Phase 3 study in pancreatic cancer patients next month, and it remains our goal to expand our ongoing clinical trials and additional tumor types in the second-half of this year, in support of our objective of demonstrating the pan-tumor potential for PEGPH20. We now have eight studies in process between the company, clinical collaborations, and investigator sponsored trials, and we’re making the appropriate investments we believe today to realize the two future potential value of PEGPH20. And thirdly, we’ve got strong momentum in the ENHANZE pillar of our strategy two with an enviable list of six global partners, four royalty generating product approvals with launches in 48 countries, and for new products entering the clinic just in the last four months. I think this may be the most underappreciated part of our story, as it continues to create value and serve as a key differentiator for our business. For additional details in our progress, I’ll start on Slide 2, with an overview of our strategy. We operate the business and make investment decisions in two strategic pillars. The first pillar is our oncology business, with our investigational drug PEGPH20 at the core. Our PEGPH20 temporarily degrades hyaluronan, which is a glycosaminoglycan or chain of natural sugars in the body that can accumulate around certain tumors and can constrict the tumor vasculature. In animal models, we’ve demonstrated that degrading hyaluronan or HA reduces tumor pressure, increasing the blood flow, and thereby the access of cancer treatment into the tumor. And we’re currently studying PEGPH20 in pancreatic, non-small cell lung and gastric cancer patients. But we see broader potential applicability for its use in multiple tumor types and in combination with immuno-oncology agent, monoclonal antibodies, and chemotherapies. Now we’re work on oncology is funded in part by the second pillar of our strategy, which is centered on our licensing agreements with marquee partners, which includes Roche, Baxalta, Pfizer, Janssen, AbbVie, and most recently Eli Lilly. These partners co-formulate or co-administer their therapies with our ENHANZE technology platform which temporarily degrades HA under the skin and that enabled the larger fluid volumes or molecules to be delivered with a subcutaneous injection or on a less frequent dosing schedule. Both the ENHANZE and PEGPH20 are based on our proprietary rHuPH20 enzyme. And our revenue is driven by product sales, milestone payments, and royalties. For the fourth quarter, revenue increased 72% year-on-year to $52 million, which included a $25 million upfront license fee from the global collaboration and licensing agreement we announced in December with Lily. Royalty revenues of $9.5 million, reflect sales of partner products in the third quarter of 2015. Our royalties increased 15% from the third quarter of 2015, and a 136% year-on-year from the fourth quarter of 2014. This results close a record year for Halozyme with revenue of $135 million, a 79% increase over 2014. Now with that summary, I’ll provide more detail on the progress we made this quarter in our oncology pillar. Our clinical study of PEGPH20 is making excellent progress and continues to generate strong support from investigators. This month, we closed enrollment in our Phase II study Page 2 of study 202, in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with 133 patients enrolled in the United States. We project being able to provide mature progression-free survival and response rate results from this study in the fourth quarter, and we would expect to report additional details at medical Euphora [ph] in 2017. Moving onto our preparation now for our Phase 3 trial, I’m pleased to report that our partner Vetana submitted an investigational device exemption or IDE earlier this month to the FDA for the companion diagnostic. This represents another important milestone towards the start of our Phase 3 study. The IDE seeks approval for the use in a clinical study to collect safety and effectiveness data in support of a final regulatory approval of the companion diagnostic. Vetana and Halozyme have been on a ongoing dialogue with the FDA regarding the assay, methodology, scoring algorithm, cutpoint and analytical study designs. We believe we have alignment with the FDA on this key elements. And if the FDA has no comments following the 30-day review period, the diagnostic is clear to be used in the Phase 3 trial and patients screening for high HA may begin based on clinical protocol driven biopsies. The data we presented in January in the stage 1 data from study 202 using the Vetana diagnostic and which supports the Phase 3 design is shown in Slide,3 and an overview of the Phase 3 study design is shown in Slide 4. Study 301 will be a 420-patient global double-blind placebo controlled randomized trial of patients with stage IV pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma will be prospectively identified and included based on high levels of HA. With input from a type B meeting with the FDA in March of 2015, and scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency last July, we’re proceeding with two primary endpoints, progression free-survival and overall survival. We plan to conduct an interim analysis from the target number of progression free survival events is reached. Based on the interim analysis, the Data Monitoring Committee will have the option to recommend we stop the study based on efficacy, continue it to the target enrollment of 420 patients, increase enrollment of up to – to up to 570 patients for the final overall survival assessment, or stop the study for futility. If the progression free survival data shows a significant benefit in the PEGPH20 treatment arm, and both the overall survival and overall risk benefit are supportive, these data may form the basis for marketing application in the United States and conditional marketing authorization in Europe. Now, I’m pleased to also report that we’re on track to dose the first patient in Phase 3 study next month. Approximately, 200 global sites have agreed to participate in the study. Our U.S. Investigator Meeting occurred earlier this month and sites startup visits are now well underway. These are important steps as upon completion of these site visits, patients may initiate screening activities. Turning to our rest of world plans. Earlier this month, we also received protocol approval in 11 European countries under the Voluntary Harmonization Procedure, and we continue to submit protocols in additional countries. Our plan is to initiate sites in the rest of world locations beginning early in Q2 and to reach our target of more than 90% of the centers ready to start screening patients by the end of the year. I’m very excited by the strong support we are seeing for the study and the excellent progress we are seeing in our startup plans. Once we initiate the study and establish the enrollment trajectory, we intend to provide periodic updates upon achievement of key milestones such as when the first patient is dosed with a target number of U.S. and rest of world sites are ready to screen patients. As we execute on our study 301 plans and complete study 202, we’re taking steps to improve our overall readiness to seek approval for PEGPH20 at the earliest possible timeframe. While we do not believe a filing based on study 202 is likely, we will be prepared for that possibility should the data be supportive. If the data were supportive, we would seek FDA input regarding an accelerated approval pathway and believe that having the Phase 3 studies 301 underway would be helpful. We see this is an appropriate approach, given we have a targeted therapy and a patient population with a high unmet need. Now, as a reminder, Halozyme remains blinded to the efficiency data from stage 2 of study 202, and it’s our plan to analyze the data using the Ventana companion diagnostic to identify the high HA patient population when the target number of events have been achieved, which we project will occur in the fourth quarter of this year. Now, we are farthest alone in our study of PEGPH20 in pancreatic cancer, our preclinical models support the potential for PEGPH20 in a broad range of solid tumors and it’s our goal to demonstrate this pan-tumor potential. Slide 5 shows our currently active and planned clinical trials. As we have communicated, Halozyme is conducting two separate additional studies to evaluate the pan-tumor potential of PEGPH20. Each study has an all comer dose escalation base followed by a dose expansion phase in which only high HA patients will be enrolled. Our primal study is evaluating PEGPH20 in combination with docetaxel in locally advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients who did not respond adequately, or lost their response to a platinum-based regimen, and is designed to identify the dose and safety of PEGPH20 plus docetaxel. In addition to the PRIMAL study, we are in a very good position to adapt to the changing landscape in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with our Phase 1b study of PEGPH20 in KEYTRUDA or pembrolizumab. The PEGPH20 plus pembrolizumab trial will enroll relapse-refractory Stage 3b and Stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer patients who has been treated with, at least, one platinum based regimen or with current locally advanced or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma patients, who failed at least one chemotherapy regimen. We’re currently in the dose escalation portion in both combination studies to determine the maximum tolerated dose of PEGPH20. And just as a reminder the design of the dose finding portion is similar in each trial, whereas three patients completed dose cohort without a dose limiting toxicity or DLT in the first 21 days escalation to the next dose level occurs. In a patient in the cohort has a DLT, three additional patients are enrolled, and if there are no additional DLTs, escalation to the dose level may occur. If there were two or more DLTs, the maximum tolerated dose have considered to have been exceeded and additional patients can be evaluated at the lower dose. Now, let me provide an update on the progress of each of our trials. In the PRIMAL study after experiencing dose-limiting toxicity to 3 micrograms/kilogram of PEGPH20, we have decreased the dose and continues to enroll patients at the 1.6 microgram/kilogram dose level. We have also submitted a protocol amendment to regulatory authorities to evaluate intermediate doses of PEGPH20 between 1.6 micrograms/kilogram and 3 micrograms/kilogram. Selection of the right dose to take into the dose expansion phase where we will evaluate both efficacy and tolerability is one of the most important expansion phase. And we will evaluate both efficacy and tolerability is one of the most important decisions we will make and we feel that’s important to evaluate these additional dose levels. With the KEYTRUDA study since enrolling the first patient in November last year, we’re now awaiting completion of follow-up on the first dose cohort at 1.6 micrograms/kilogram. If no DLTs occur, we project moving to the next dose cohort of 2.2 micrograms/kilogram in the late March timeframe. It remains our goal to advance to the dose expansion phase of both the PRIMAL and KEYTRUDA studies in the second-half of the year pending the number of dose escalation cohorts required in each study. And as a reminder, we will be selecting for high HA patients from the does expansion phase of both studies, and evaluating larger cohorts of patients for efficacy as well as tolerability at the maximum tolerated dose of PEGPH20. And finally, on the slide, we have our planned clinical trial with our collaboration partner Eisai to evaluate Halaven or Eribulin in combination with PEGPH20 in first-line HER2 negative high HA metastatic breast cancer patients. Since announcing the collaboration last July, we have finalized protocol with Eisai, a contract research organization has been selected, and we estimate a study start in the second quarter of 2016. As a reminder, this would be a Phase 1b/2 clinical trials explore whether PEGPH20 in combination with Halaven can improve overall response rate as compared to Halaven alone. Including our Phase 2 study in pancreatic cancer patients, we now have a total eight studies in process between the company, clinical collaboration, and investigator sponsored trials, representing the investments we are making to realize the full potential of PEGPH20. Now, let me turn to move to Slide 6, for a discussion of the second pillar of our strategy, our ENHANZE platform. Our ENHANZE platform is its best position it’s been at any point in the company’s history. We have six marquee partners partners generating milestone revenue, four product approvals generating loyalty revenue for new products in the clinic that have the potential to generate future milestones in royalties and two potential new indications for existing approved product in development. Since December of 2014, in just 14 months, we’ve doubled the number of collaboration partners and generated revenue from these initiations of more than $60 million, including the notable addition of Lily in December Since October, our partner started building in four separate Phase I trials, resulting in an additional $7 million in milestone payments to Halozyme. These include clinical trials involving Pfizer’s Rivipansel for vaso-occlusive crisis and and sickle cell patients; Janssen anti-CD38 daratumumab for multiple myeloma patients; AbbVie HUMIRA to help reduce the number of induction injections at higher doses. And the most recent example came earlier this month when Pfizer dosed the first subject in a Phase I trial evaluating safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of bococizumab, an investigational PCSK9 inhibitor using our ENHANZE platform. A couple of brief updates in these studies, the Pfizer study with bococizumab is designed to explore optimizing the delivery and frequency of injections, and its initiation triggered a $1 million milestone payment. In addition, Genmab indicated in the fourth quarter update in the study of daratumumab with ENHANZE has progressed with the first dosing cohort and is currently dosing patients in the second cohort. In combination with these recent milestone payments, we’re pleased with the value potential that is unlocked as our partners progress in the clinic, and ultimately commercialize these therapies, benefiting in greater number of patients, and securing additional and potentially substantial future royalty revenue for Halozyme. Among the reasons for our success with the ENHANZE is the platform can be used in combination with a variety of other drugs and is applicable across many therapeutic categories. The value propositional on Slide 7, includes lifecycle management with the opportunity to prolong the exclusivity period for the combined product, and the ability to reduce dosing frequency and duration by taking drugs from an IV to a subcutaneous formulation or allowing higher volumes to be infused at one time. Now, today, we benefit from sales of Roche’s Herceptin SC and MabThera SC in countries outside of the United States and from Baxalta’s HYQVIA in the U.S. and Europe. As Roche indicated during the most recent quarterly call and as shown in Slide 8, Herceptin SC is now available 48 countries and its sales now account for approximately 40% of the total Herceptin sales in Europe. This update reflects its launch in new geographies and growing and growing market share. Roche also said that MabThera SC is now launched in 12 countries, representing approximately 30% of sales in these markets for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Baxalta’s HYQVIA which was launched in the U.S. in October of 2014 combined immunoglobulin fusion 10% with our rHuPH20 and is indicated for adults with primary immunodeficiency or PID. PID is a chronic condition and HYQVIA is the only once a month subcutaneous treatment for adult patients. The PID market is expected to reach $3 billion in sales by 2020, with subcutaneous therapies representing more than 50% of the market. In their fourth quarter report, Baxalta indicated that HYQVIA is experiencing strong uptick and a very favorable reception by patients and physicians with annual run rate sales now approaching $150 million. More than 50% of U.S. HYQVIA patients are converting from competitive therapies and approximately 25% are newly diagnosed patients. We are very pleased with progress and momentum to-date and it only serves to motivate us to achieve more across a wider set of collaborators and a wider range of therapies. With that update, I will now turn the call over to Laurie to discuss our financial results for the quarter in greater detail. Laurie.