Bill Doyle
Analyst · Leerink Partners. Your line is open
Thank you, Ingrid, and good morning, everyone. Our mission at NovoCure is to extend survival in some of the most aggressive forms of cancer. Through the development and commercialization of our innovative therapy tumor-treating fields, we have built a strong foundation treating glioblastoma, and with an anticipated approval to treat second line non-small cell lung cancer, we are on the threshold of helping many more patients in need. As we approach this year's milestone, the urgency of our mission is even greater for the entire NovoCure team. Entering 2024, we identified three key objectives which would best position us for success this year and beyond. One, to grow our commercial business in glioblastoma. Two, to launch TTFields therapy in non-small cell lung cancer. And three, to deliver on the promise of our clinical and product development pipelines. These objectives are ingrained in our business units and have been rallying points for our global teams. I am pleased to share that we are making significant progress on all three, and with the focus and dedication of the entire NovoCure team, we believe we can deliver on all three in 2024. This morning, we will review our progress on each objective, review our financial performance, and then open the line for questions. We ended the second quarter with 3,963 active patients on therapy, our highest number of active patients since commencing commercial operations. Our French GBM launch, now in its fifth quarter, continues to be a tailwind. France serves as a blueprint for a successful launch, employing our new synchronized commercial structure, a blueprint we will leverage in future expansion across the big five EU markets. Real world evidence of the benefits of TTFields therapy is a key resource for engaging with prescribers. In June at ASCO, Dr. Oliver Bähr of the General Hospital Aschaffenburg-Alzenau, presented top line data from the TIGER trial. TIGER examined TTFields therapy in the routine clinical care of newly diagnosed GBM patients in Germany. TIGER is the largest prospective non-interventional TTFields trial completed to date. Dr. Bahr reported a median overall survival of 19.6 months and median progression-free survival of 10.2 months, corroborating the leading survival outcomes observed in our Phase 3 EF-14 trial. Last month, in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Dr. Mrugala of the Mayo Clinic, published updated findings from a post-marketing safety analysis of over 25,000 TTFields patients. Dr. Mrugala’s analysis confirmed that TTFields therapy was well tolerated, and that no signs of additive systemic toxicity were detected in the patient population, corroborating the safety findings of the EF-14 trial. In April, in the journal BMC Cancer, Dr. Kumthekar of Northwestern, published a qualitative review of key factors driving patient adoption of Optune Gio for the treatment of GBM. Dr. Kumthekar’s team found that the two most influential drivers for adoption are knowledge of Optune’s proven survival benefit and the treating physician's opinion. Real world evidence from trials like TIGER &Dr. Mrugala and Kumthekar’s analyses, are important additions to the ever-growing body of studies supporting Optune Gio for the treatment of GBM, and they underline our commitment to generate and share data with physicians to support and broaden the adoption of TTFields. We are also focused on product development to improve the patient experience. We have rolled out our next-generation arrays in our key European markers, and patient feedback continues to be positive. We submitted a PMA supplement to the FDA in December, and expect a decision from the FDA later this year. After approval, we will commence US rollout. Our team is working on improvements to the digital experience for prescribers and patients, with the goal of providing dashboards to streamline patient starts and optimize usage and persistence. We believe our fully aligned commercial approach, supported by real world evidence and digital innovation, will help to drive strong commercial performance in the second half of the year. Our second key objective this year is the approval and launch of Optune Lua for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Regulatory submissions have been filed, and we are engaged with authorities in all of our major markets. As a reminder, prior to our May earnings report, we had recently completed our 100-day meeting with the FDA, with no indication that the PMA will be referred to a panel. To date, a panel has not been requested, and our expectations remain unchanged. We eagerly await the FDA's decision later this year. In Europe, we are waiting for CE mark approval. The new MDR process in Europe has lengthened timelines, and we continue to engage with new reviewers at TÜV Rheinland, our EU-notified body. While the review process has taken longer than originally projected, our expected outcome has not changed, and we anticipate a final decision in the second half of 2024. Internally, our German and US lung teams are hired and are preparing to launch immediately following regulatory approval. We plan to treat patients in the US and Germany as soon as possible following approval using a named patient reimbursement process, with additional country launches expected next year. Non-small cell lung cancer represents the next major step forward in the NovoCure story, and we are eager to pursue this opportunity. Asaf will now review our clinical progress in the quarter.