Bruce C. Cozadd - Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc
Analyst · Evercore. Your line is open
Thanks, Kathee. Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us. We're pleased with our progress during 2018 including significant commercial and R&D achievements and our sleep and hem/onc therapeutic areas during the third quarter. Overall, our commercial portfolio performed well with Xyrem and Defitelio experiencing strong demand evidenced by double digit growth in the third quarter. While we are facing some challenges with Vyxeos, we continue to believe in the potential for this product in light of its compelling efficacy data. We have previously encountered in results similar challenges in establishing new hem/onc products and are confident in our ability to address the current challenges. On the R&D side, we achieved key milestones in both our sleep and hem/onc therapeutic areas with FDA approval for Xyrem in pediatric narcolepsy and marketing authorization of Vyxeos in the EU. We also completed study recruitment in our JZP-258 study, completed enrollment in our solriamfetol study in Parkinson's disease and advance multiple additional clinical programs. We're pleased to have put the uncertainly of outstanding IP litigation related to Xyrem behind us. The resolution of this litigation provides increased clarity regarding the substantial ongoing value of Xyrem and enhances our ability to maximize the potential of the oxybate franchise. Additionally, the company's strong cash position leaves us well positioned to execute on our strategy of balancing R&D investment and corporate development opportunities in order to drive sustainable growth over the mid to long term. Now I'll provide further details on some of our key commercial, regulatory and R&D activities and then turn the call over to Matt for a financial update. Vyxeos sales were below our expectations in the third quarter. While we were pleased with the growth at some key accounts, we continue to encounter barriers to wider adoption of Vyxeos as a central therapy in secondary AML patients fit for intensive chemotherapy. In order to increase adoption, we identified the need to strengthen the understanding of Vyxeos' differentiated efficacy across a broader population of leukemia treaters, clarify patient selection criteria and the appropriate continuum of Vyxeos therapy and address hospital budget concerns and utilization management. We are implementing an assertive approach to drive change through all key accounts. Our plan includes significant account by account education and outreach to ensure that leukemia treaters understand, one, the superiority of Vyxeos to standard chemotherapy and secondary AML patients as fully supported by AML key opinion leaders and the only category 1 recommendation in the NCCN AML guidelines; two, the full breadth of the appropriate patient population for Vyxeos; and three, importantly, how to use Vyxeos for optimal outcomes. We also are continuing to ensure that hospital budget administrators are aware of the new technology add-on payment for Vyxeos which became effective October 1. The evolving AML landscape has resulted in an environment that requires considerable education and outreach to incorporate changes into longstanding institutional treatment practices for AML. Our efforts are emphasizing the importance of continuing Vyxeos use after initial induction including in a second induction and also in consolidation when appropriate. At the recent SOHO meeting in September, a poster presentation of consolidation-specific data from our Phase 3 study in secondary AML showed patients who receive Vyxeos consolidation had a median overall survival of 25.4 months versus 8.5 months for patients in the 7+3 arm. This prolongation of survival occurred whether patients received consolidation followed by stem cell transplantation or consolidation without transplantation. We believe this data will be an important consideration to further support Vyxeos as the optimal consolidation therapy for their AML patients. During the third quarter, we expanded our hem/onc team with additional sales representatives and medical science liaisons. Our other hem/onc sales teams will also support the AML team to expand our reach to all key accounts. Together with our reimbursement specialists, we believe this expanded team is well positioned to drive improved understanding of and use of Vyxeos. In Europe, our rolling launch is underway and we remain focused on obtaining pricing and reimbursement across the EU5. We have multiple patient access programs in place while we work through the complex P&R environment to facilitate access for patients who can benefit from Vyxeos. As part of our efforts to generate additional data with Vyxeos, we're looking forward to the oral presentation of data from a Phase 1 study evaluating Vyxeos in children and adults up to 30 years of age with relaxed refractory acute leukemia or lymphoma at the ASH meeting next month. We have made progress in our R&D efforts to evaluate Vyxeos more broadly in AML including building an understanding of Vyxeos in combination with other targeted therapies. As part of our collaboration with MD Anderson, two combination studies have been posted on clinicaltrials.gov, one is a Phase 2 study evaluating the combination of Vyxeos and venetoclax in de novo and relapsed refractory AML patients which recently began recruiting. This study will offer insights into how to maximize outcomes in fit patients with the current Vyxeos AML dose and schedule and it will contribute to the continuing rationale for use of intensive chemotherapy in combination with additional agents. The second study will evaluate a Vyxeos and gemtuzumab combination in patients with relapsed refractory AML or MDS after hypomethylating agent failure which is expected to start soon. Additionally, the AML 19 and AML 18 cooperative group studies are in progress and we intend to bring more studies forward in 2019 including in MDS. We believe evaluating Vyxeos in combination with other agents, expanding to standard risk and relapsed refractory patients plus ensuring commitment for research across pediatric and adults, provides an important step towards optimizing the benefit and value of Vyxeos as the chemotherapy backbone of AML therapy. Turning to Defitelio, we're pleased with the performance of Defitelio in the third quarter and believe our educational and promotional efforts are improving physician awareness of VOD. We are continue to improving the lives of patients who develop rare complications following hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and are making good progress with our defibrotide development program. Patient enrollment in our Phase 3 study for the prevention of VOD has been strong and we will be preparing for the planned interim analysis in 2019. This predefined interim analysis will determine the final enrollment goal of either 400 or 600 patients. The Phase 2 study for the prevention of acute graft versus host disease is also enrolling well. Additionally we continue to collaborate actively with regulatory authorities on optimal protocol development for our pivotal study for the treatment of TA-TMA and now expect to begin enrollment in 2019. Finally our partner, Nippon Shinyaku, submitted in October an NDA in Japan for the treatment of VOD. For Erwinaze, supply challenges continued to impact product availability in the third quarter. As a reminder, we license Erwinaze from Porton Biopharma Limited, or PBL, a company that is wholly owned by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and under our agreement Erwinaze is manufactured by PBL as a single source. While we have been seeking to work with PBL to improve reliability of supply, we are currently in the midst of a global supply outage. While we expect to resume supply this quarter, we unfortunately expect further supply outages later in the quarter and into next year. We are disappointed that the ongoing manufacturing issues at PBL continue to negatively impact our ability to provide patients with this important component of the treatment regimen for ALL and we remain committed to taking all actions in our control to maximize availability of Erwinaze for patients. Now on to the sleep therapeutic area starting with Xyrem and JZP-258, our low sodium oxybate program. Xyrem performance remained strong in the third quarter and in the first nine months of 2018 with bottle volume growth of 9% in both periods compared to the same periods in 2017. The average number of active Xyrem patients increased to 14,100 in the third quarter of 2018, up 6% compared to the same period last year and we continue to see growth in the number of newly diagnosed narcolepsy patients. Our supplemental NDA for Xyrem for pediatric narcolepsy received FDA approval on October 26, representing the first approved cataplexy treatment for patients under age 18. We expect to launch in this indication in the first half of next year following implementation of a REMS modification to include information specific to the pediatric and caregiver populations. On the development front, our Phase 3 randomized withdrawal study of JZP-258 in adult narcolepsy patients with cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness continues to progress. We completed study recruitment in September and expect patient randomization to be completed around year end. We expect to share top line results in the spring. Study site activation is in progress for our Phase 3 randomized withdrawal study evaluating JZP-258 in patients with idiopathic hypersomnia and we expect patient enrollment will begin this quarter. We're pleased to have resolved the outstanding patent litigation related to Xyrem. While the launch dates provided in our settlement agreements could be accelerated under certain circumstances, the settlements provide us with substantially increased clarity around the timeline for authorized generic and generic entry and the resulting economics to Jazz. As we've mentioned, the first filer, Hikma, has a right to begin selling a Xyrem authorized generic, or AG, through the Xyrem REMS in January 2023 for up to five years with Jazz receiving meaningful royalties during the first year of the AG period, increasing substantially thereafter. Hikma has a license to launch its generic product as of July 1, 2023, but it will no longer have the right to sell an AG product through the Xyrem REMS if it elects to do so. Three of the second filers each have a right to sell a limited volume of an AG through the Xyrem REMS from July 2023 through December 2025, with each company entitled to an AG quantity equal to a low single digit percentage of Xyrem volume in the year prior to AG launch and Jazz receiving meaningful royalties on these AG sales. Each of the eight second filers has a license to launch its generic product as of December 31, 2025. As a result of the increased certainty provided by these settlements and our continuing investments on our oxybate franchise, we're excited about the long-term contributions of Xyrem and JZP-258 to our expanding sleep therapeutic area. Now on to solriamfetol. We're looking forward to an FDA approval later this year, a DEA scheduling decision in the first quarter of 2019 and launching this meaningful treatment option for patients living with excessive daytime sleepiness, or EDS, due to narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea. We are making significant progress toward our U.S. launch, with a strong presence at recent scientific meetings including CHEST and the American Neurological Association in October. We also recently launched a consumer education campaign called A Different Kind of Tired aimed at helping people recognize the signs and symptoms of EDS as well as providing resources and information for patients living with EDS-related sleep apnea. This campaign was developed in response to a recent Jazz-sponsored survey of OSA patients and their partners conducted by the Harris Poll, which reported that EDS associated with sleep apnea can have a negative impact on daily activities including work, driving and personal interactions. We've hired our marketing team and expect sales force expansion next year. The combined sleep sales force will cover both Xyrem and solriamfetol. Our launch strategy will focus on leveraging solriamfetol's differentiated mechanism of action and robust efficacy data to establish a strong foothold with narcolepsy and high-volume OSA treaters. We have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the existing relationships in our current Xyrem call universe, which is comprised of approximately 5,300 physicians who manage narcolepsy patients, 3,000 of whom also manage OSA patients. On the development side, we expect to share early next year top-line results from our completed Phase 2 proof of concept study evaluating solriamfetol for EDS and Parkinson's disease. We are eager to evaluate solriamfetol in other conditions where excessive daytime sleepiness is a debilitating symptom, and expect to share additional information about our development plans next year. To wrap up my remarks, in the third quarter we continued the significant progress we've made year to date with notable regulatory and development accomplishments. As we close out the year, we will continue working to address factors that are influencing Vyxeos uptake in an effort to improve patient outcomes with this important new treatment. We expect to achieve several additional milestones in 2018 including the submission of an MAA for solriamfetol in the EU this month, commencement of our Phase 3 study of JZP-258 in idiopathic hypersomnia and FDA approval of solriamfetol for EDS in OSA and narcolepsy. Our hard work this year has laid the foundation for multiple clinical development milestones in 2019 including receipt of top-line data from our Phase 2 study of solriamfetol for EDS and Parkinson's disease and from our Phase 3 trial of JZP-258 for adult narcolepsy patients. Matt, now I'll turn the call over to you.