Dror Ben-Asher
Analyst · Christopher Marai. Please go ahead, your line is open
Thank you, Micha. As I mentioned earlier, a major milestone recently was the FDA approval of Talicia for the treatment of H. pylori infection in adults. Talicia is the only rifabutin-based therapy approved for the treatment of H. pylori infection, and is designed to address the high-resistance of H. pylori bacteria to clarithromycin-based standard of care therapies, and the imperative need for new treatment. H. pylori bacterial infection affects more than 50% of the world's population, and approximately 100 million Americans, which is classified as a Group 1 Carcinogen, and is the strongest risk factor for the development of gastric cancer, and a major risk factor for peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, and other diseases. Talicia is intended to target an estimated $2 million patients treated annually in the U.S. It is eligible for U.S. market exclusivity for a total of eight years in addition to the U.S. patent, which extend patent protection until at least 2034. With our established sales force and commercial capabilities already in place, we're excited to move ahead with the planned U.S. commercial launch of Talicia during the first quarter of 2020. We will continue to keep you apprised of the progress of the launch. This brings me to the other significant events. Last month, we announced a strategic collaboration with Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, including an exclusive license for the U.S. rights to Aemcolo, and simultaneous [ph] private investment by Cosmo of $36 million in RedHill equity. Aemcolo is a minimally-absorbed antibiotic that is delivered to the colon. It is approved by FDA for the treatment of travelers' diarrhea caused by non-invasive strains of E. coli in adults. Travelers' diarrhea presents a significant market opportunity for RedHill with 32 million Americans traveling to developing countries each year, of whom, high percentage develop traveler diarrhea. We plan to launch Aemcolo in the U.S. in the coming weeks later this quarter. Heading up, the launches of both Aemcolo and Talicia, is our highly experienced and motivated commercial team headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. This execution focus team is led by Rick Scruggs, formerly at Salix, and has been carefully and gradually setting the stage over the last three years for the launch of Talicia and other new products. Intensive and diligent preparation for the launches of Aemcolo and Talicia are ongoing full force on all fronts. We are checking the necessary boxes one by one, including extensive market access in managed care [indiscernible] marketing, sales force expansion, and disease awareness campaign, medical affairs, including publications and presentations activities, supply chain quality and compliance management, and more. In addition, discussions are ongoing for the potential acquisition by RedHill of right to additional FDA-approved commercial stage GI assets, driven by RedHill's strategy to capitalize on economies of scale and synergies created with RedHill's growing commercial capabilities and presence within and beyond the U.S. GI community. Turning to our research and development, discussions have been advancing with FDA in relation to the potential path to approval of our Phase 3 program, including RHB-104 for Crohn's disease, RHB-204 for first line treatment of NTM infections, and Bekinda for gastroenteritis. In addition, the ongoing Phase II study evaluating our new chemical entity, Yeliva in advanced cholangiocarcinoma, bile duct cancer, continue to enroll patients in leading U.S. centers, with enrollment expected to be completed in the coming month. Before I turn the call over to the operator for questions, I want to remind everybody that we are scheduled to host an investor and analyst event on Friday, this week, November 22nd, in New York. During this event, we will provide an overview of the commercial strategy and plans for both Talicia and Aemcolo, followed by a Q&A session. A live webcast of the event, including the slide presentation and additional information will be available on the company's Web site. To sum up our comments today, this is an exciting and transformative time for RedHill. We are confident and well positioned for the future. We will now take any questions you may have.