Shalini Sharp
Analyst · Bank of America. Your line is now open
Thank you, Emil, and good afternoon, everyone. We issued a press release earlier today that included a financial update, which I will briefly summarize. Total net loss for third quarter of 2017 was $79.2 million or $1.87 per share, basic and diluted, compared with $64.9 million or $1.64 per share, basic and diluted, for the third quarter of 2016. This reflected cash use and operations of $172 million for the first nine months of 2017, compared with $113.3 million for the same time period in 2016. We continue to expect cash use in operations to increase for the remainder of the year. Net loss for the first nine months of 2017 included approximately $44.8 million in non-cash charges, including stock-based compensation of $48.5 million, amortization of premiums on purchased investments, depreciation amortization and other noncash charges, offset by a noncash intercompany foreign exchange re-measurement gain of $8.4 million. We expect stock compensation expenses to continue to increase over time. In the third quarter we recognized revenue of a $198,000 in named patient sales for vestronidase alfa. Our total operating expenses were $83.9 million for the third quarter of 2017. Research and development costs were $60.4 million during this period with our Phase III programs accounting for the greatest proportion of R&D costs. Costs for our multiple pre-clinical translational research programs are also increasing as programs advance towards the clinic. During 2018, we expect operating expenses to increase due to the potential launch activities for both burosumab and vestronidase alfa. We ended the third quarter with $396 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments on the balance. With two U.S. product launches potentially on the horizon, I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss revenue expectations around and vestronidase alfa and burosumab. As you know, the PDUFA date for vestronidase alfa is imminent. However, it's obviously late in the year and we do not expect significant revenues from the product in 2017. As MPS 7 is an extraordinarily rare disease, we expect a gradual build over time as patients are found, put on therapy and ultimately reimbursed. With both burosumab and vestronidase alfa, we know that not all patients will be reimbursed immediately upon launch. We expect that payers will conduct in-house clinical reviews of these products, as they do for other new therapies, which can take three to nine months to complete. While the reimbursement process has the most significant impact on revenue in the early launch period, when all of the patients are essentially new, we do expect that ultimately over time penetration will reflect the true value of these products as demonstrated in our clinical programs. In the case of burosumab, we also expect to see a gradual build in terms of revenue which is typical for rare disease treatments. We also expect that the uptake in adults may be slower than in paediatric patients. Our burden of illness study shows that adults have progressively debilitating complications that negatively impact functional independence and quality of life. However, a significant portion of adult patients are not being treated with conventional therapy today, for a variety of reasons including potential safety issues associated with oral phosphate and vitamin D. And as a result, it will take longer for adoption among adults compared to children who are typically being actively treated. I will also review the terms of the collaboration with KHK. Our agreement with KHK outlines three territories: the U.S. and Canada, Latin America, and Europe. In the U.S. and Canada, for the first five years post-launch, Ultragenyx will launch burosumab and share development and commercial costs 50-50 with KHK. Ultragenyx will also pay KHK a supply price that is a fixed double-digit percentage of net sales. This supply price reflects a higher than typical cost of goods margin for a biologic, and essentially compensates our partner for the fact that we were not required to pay any upfront or milestone payments, nor have we paid for the cost of product during the development period or any associated manufacturing costs. In North America, our half of burosumab revenues will be shown net of the supply price. After the first five years, KHK will take over the majority of commercialization efforts in the U.S. and Canada, and instead of the profit share mechanism, Ultragenyx will receive a tiered royalty in the mid-to-high 20% range. This royalty is intended to reflect the same economics as during the profit share period. Throughout these periods, the agreement states that KHK will book sales for burosumab in the U.S. and Canada. Turning to Latin America, the agreements state that Ultragenyx will commercialize burosumab and recognize revenue, while paying KHK a low single-digit royalty on net sales. In Latin American Ultragenyx will pay KHK, the same supply price as in the U.S. and Canada, a significant fixed double-digit percentage of net sales. In Europe, KHK will commercialize and book burosumab sales, while Ultragenyx will receive a royalty of up to 10% of net sales. As a reminder, in Europe, it can take 12 to 24-months for approved products to receive reimbursement on a country by country basis. Overall, we estimate that we hold roughly one third of the value of burosumab in the territories that are subject to the agreement. This concludes my remarks for today. And with that, I'll turn the call back over to Emil.