Ionis Pharmaceuticals Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 7, 2024

There are 15 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to Ionis' First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Wade Wach, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations to lead off the call. Please begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Keith. Before we begin, I encourage everyone to go to the Investors section of the Ionis website to view the press release and the related financial tables we will be discussing today, including a reconciliation of GAAP to non GAAP financials. We believe non GAAP financial results better represent the economics of our business and how we manage our business. We've also posted slides on our website that accompany today's call. With me this morning are Brett Monia, Chief Executive Officer Kyle Janae, Chief Global Product Strategy Officer and Beth Haugen, Chief Financial Officer.

Speaker 1

Richard Geary, our Chief Development Officer Eric Swayze, Executive Vice President of Research Eugene Snyder, Chief Clinical Development Officer and Jonathan Birchell, Chief Commercial Officer will also join us for the Q and A portion of the call. I'd like to draw your attention to Slide 3, which contains our forward looking language statement. During this call, we will be making forward looking statements that are based on our current expectations and beliefs. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially. I encourage you to consult the risk factors contained in our SEC filings for additional detail.

Speaker 1

With that, I'll turn the call over to Brett.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Wade. Good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us today. 2024 is off to a great start for Ionis as we continue to execute on our vision to bring better futures to people with serious diseases. With the recent U. S.

Speaker 2

Launch of our first Ionis co branded medicine, Waynua, Ionis discovered medicines are now reaching even more people living with serious diseases. And we're on the cusp of independently delivering a steady stream of new transformational medicines to patients beginning with our planned launches of olozarsen and domaglarsen. By uniting groundbreaking science and technology with a relentless passion to discover, develop and deliver new transformational medicines to people in need, we believe Ionis is well positioned to unlock next level value. WAYNEUEL launch for ATTR polyneuropathy is on track in the U. S.

Speaker 2

With our co commercialization partner AstraZeneca. While it's early days in the launch, we're pleased with the collective team's progress. With approval decisions in Europe and Canada expected later this year and additional regulatory submissions already completed, we expect to soon bring WAYNEU it to even more patients around the globe. And based on WAYNEUWA's strong efficacy profile together with the freedom of simple at home monthly self administration, we believe WAYNEUWA is poised to become the therapy of choice for ATTR patients. We continue to advance our cardio transformed study of WAYNEUWA for the larger ATTR cardiomyopathy indication with the potential for data as early as 2025.

Speaker 2

As the largest study ever conducted in this patient population, the landmark Cardio Transform trial is on track to deliver the most comprehensive and robust data set. We expect the data we generate will enable physicians and payers to make informed treatment decisions in this dynamic treatment landscape. And with AstraZeneca's global leadership in the commercialization of novel cardiovascular treatments coupled with our leadership in TTR amyloidosis, we believe we're well positioned to bring WAYNUWA to patients in the U. S. And around the globe.

Speaker 2

Our next planned launch is for olezarsen in FCS, a severe rare disease with no approved treatments in the U. S. Olezarsen is also in development for the much larger SHTG patient population with more than 3,000,000 estimated patients in the U. S. Alone.

Speaker 2

By addressing these two indications, olosarsen represents one of the most meaningful opportunities in our pipeline today. Last month, we presented and published very positive Phase 3 results for olosarsen in FCS. In the Phase 3 BALANCE study in patients with FCS, olezarsen showed substantial triglyceride reductions. Importantly, for patients, physicians and payers, olezarsen also demonstrated substantial and clinically meaningful reductions in attacks of acute pancreatitis as well as a favorable safety and tolerability profile. BALANCE is truly groundbreaking as it is the 1st trial to demonstrate that reducing triglycerides can reduce the incidence of acute pancreatitis.

Speaker 2

In addition to the Phase 3 BALANCE study, we presented and published positive data from the BRIDGE study in patients with high cardiovascular risk and moderately elevated triglycerides. In this study, 93% of patients with moderately elevated triglycerides at baseline achieved normal triglyceride levels, reinforcing our confidence in olosarsen's potential for success in FCS and SHTG. I'm pleased to report that we submitted the NDA for olosarsen in FCS with the FDA last month, putting Ionis one step closer to our 1st independent launch. Assuming priority review, we're on track for a potential U. S.

Speaker 2

Approval by the end of this year. We're also preparing to file for regulatory approval in Europe later this year. Olazarsen is poised to be the 1st approved medicine for FCS in the United States and our strong results to date further increase our confidence that if approved, olosarsen could be the standard of care for both FCS and SHTG. Our ongoing Phase III studies for SHTG continue to progress well. I'm pleased to also report that we have now completed enrollment in 2 of the 3 Phase III studies in SHCG, CORE and ESSENCE, with our remaining study CORE II expected to complete enrollment very soon.

Speaker 2

This puts us on track for SHCG Phase 3 data mid next year. Following closely behind olefarsen in FCS is our next expected commercial launch with Donadilorsen, our potentially 1st in class prophylactic treatment for hereditary angioedema. Early in the Q1, we reported positive top line data from the Phase 3 OASIS HAE study. Donna Doloresen met the primary endpoint with a statistically significant reduction in the rate of HAE attacks in patients treated every 4 weeks and patients treated every 8 weeks. The study also met other important secondary endpoints and had a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

Speaker 2

We're looking forward to presenting data from the Phase 3 OASIS and OASIS plus studies and the late breaker oral session at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Congress, the EAAC Congress at the end of this month. OASIS Plus includes an open label cohort for patients rolling over from the Phase 3 study and a separate cohort that we refer to as the SWITCH study. SWITCH study is a first of its kind study evaluating patients who have transitioned to domiclorsen from other prophylactic HAE medications. We plan to hold a webcast in conjunction with the clinical data presentation at Yaki. With these positive data in hand, we're working to finalize our regulatory submission to the FDA, which will include both 4 week and 8 week dosing options.

Speaker 2

Additionally, our European commercial partner Otsuka is preparing to file for marketing approval in Europe. Based on our Phase 3 results and the long term efficacy and favorable safety data seen in the ongoing Phase 2 open label extension study, we believe domaglorsen if approved could evolve the HAE prophylactic treatment paradigm. Beyond our near term opportunities, we have made important progress in advancing additional areas of our rich pipeline, including our leading neurology franchise. Our leading neurology pipeline today includes 12 medicines and we remain on track to have 6 wholly owned neurology medicines in clinical development by the end of this year. We just recently added one of these medicines to our neurology pipeline with the initiation of the ORBIT study, a first inpatient study for ION-three fifty six targeting PLP-one for PMV, a rare X linked recessive leukodystrophy.

Speaker 2

In addition to our neurology franchise, we also reported positive Phase 2 data for ION-two twenty four, our medicine targeting DGAT2 in development to treat metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis or MASH. These data provided clinical evidence demonstrating for the first time that targeting DGAAT2 to reduce hepatic fat production can improve NASH histological endpoints including improving fibrosis. Study met its primary and key secondary endpoints while also demonstrating that ION-two twenty four was safe and well tolerated. These results support advancing this program to the next stage of development. Since this program is outside of our key focus areas, we intend to license Ion-two twenty four to maximize its value for the millions of people living with NASH today.

Speaker 2

Our accomplishments this year and the investments we're making over the next few years move us closer to achieving our goal of bringing steady cadence of new transformational medicines to patients for years to come and generating next level value for all Iona stakeholders. With that, I'd like to introduce Kyle Janae, who recently rejoined IONIS to lead our global product strategy and spearhead our next phase of growth. With his extensive commercial and biopharma leadership experience and familiarity with our programs, Kyle hit the ground running and has already seamlessly added value to our commercial and medical organizations during this very important time. After Kyle provides a brief update on the WAYNEUWA launch and the status of our go market activities for olsarsen and dolomarsen, Thad will review our financials, including our Q1 results. And then I'll wrap things up before taking your questions.

Speaker 2

And with that, over to Kyle.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Brett. I'm excited to be back at Ionis working with a highly accomplished team with deep commercial experience who are ready to bring our important medicines to patients in need. Over the last 4 years, we have approached our commercial build in and purposeful manner, focusing on hiring the right roles at the right time. We now have a team in place executing on the co commercialization of WAYNEUWA with AstraZeneca and preparing for the upcoming independent launches of olosarsen and Donnie Doloresen. The capabilities we've established include medical affairs as well as commercial expertise in marketing, market access, patient services, commercial operations and sales.

Speaker 3

We also recently appointed the 1st Ionis National Sales Director to the team and are beginning to hire our field organization in preparation for the FCS launch. Following the U. S. Approval at the end of last year for Waynewa, we started bringing this important medicine to patients in the Q1. As Brett noted, Waynewis represents Ionis' first co branded medicine and is poised to be the treatment of choice for hereditary ATTR polyneuropathy based on its efficacy and safety profile and the ability to self administer.

Speaker 3

With an estimated 40,000 patients worldwide and fewer than 20% of patients on an approved treatment, patients with hereditary ATTR polyneuropathy remain significantly under diagnosed and largely underserved. As a result, a high unmet need remains that we and AstraZeneca are uniquely positioned to address. Overall, the launch is tracking to plan based on predefined launch performance indicators. We are seeing good uptake among patients, some of whom are new to this class of medicine and some of whom have switched from other brands. The cross functional teams at Ionis and AstraZeneca are working well together and the early phase of the launch is benefiting from the expertise of both Under our co commercialization partnership with AstraZeneca, we have a one customer team approach that's designed to drive broad uptake.

Speaker 3

We are leading the patient support aspect of the launch, while AstraZeneca is leading the other customer facing commercial and medical teams. The combined team is working together seamlessly with a shared goal to make Waynewa the preferred choice for newly diagnosed patients with ATTR polyneuropathy. Prescribers and patients are recognizing WAYNUWA's strong clinical profile and value the ability to easily self administer WAYNUWA from their home. We are pleased with the initial phases of the launch and expect to continue reaching a growing number of patients as more prescribers learn about the value that WAYNEUHA brings. Establishing our co commercialization partnership with AstraZeneca for WAYNEUWA was an important step to efficiently prepare Ionis for our upcoming independent commercial launches of olezarsen and donidolorsen.

Speaker 3

We are developing olezarsen for 2 indications, the rare FCS indication and the broader SHTG indication with anticipated first mover advantage in both settings. We expect the approval of olosarsen for FCS by the end of this year, assuming priority review. Last month, we presented the positive FCS Phase 3 data, which were simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine. These data generated very positive feedback from key opinion leaders. They were especially impressed with the reduction in acute pancreatitis attacks.

Speaker 3

Additionally, they were encouraged that the reductions in triglycerides translated to substantial reductions in hospitalizations and inpatient hospital days supporting the potential for olosarsen to make a profound difference in the lives of people with FCS. And we expect that these data will also be very important in securing access with payers. And I'm happy to report that we recently initiated an expanded access program for olosarsen in the U. S. Enabling patients to have access to treatment ahead of potential approval.

Speaker 3

Our launch preparations are well underway for FCS. We are building for this launch using the substantial capabilities we've already established for Waynewa. Our medical affairs team has been out connecting with physicians for nearly 3 years, improving disease awareness and urgency around identifying and diagnosing FCS through disease education. We have conducted extensive market research to identify the physicians most likely to diagnose FCS and treat patients with Olazarsen. These are the physicians that we will focus on initially after launch.

Speaker 3

Additionally, we aim to build meaningful relationships with patients and healthcare professionals through a differentiating omnichannel strategy. And by leveraging our omnichannel capabilities, we expect to efficiently broaden our access to a larger base of treating physicians and accelerate the patient journey process. We are building a world class patient and caregiver support team to help patients through every step of their treatment journey. This includes helping patients to understand their disease, be informed about their medication and provide the appropriate support for access and reimbursement programs. The goal of this team is to provide a seamless customer experience that helps patients initiate treatment and remain on therapy long term.

Speaker 3

With our National Sales Director in place, we plan to hire our customer facing account champion team leading up to the launch. The team will be sized appropriately for this rare disease population and focus on FCS disease education, product information and reimbursement and access once approved. In addition, we are also expanding our market access capabilities with trade and distribution and account management teams to interact directly with payers, integrated delivery networks and other essential reimbursement channels. And as we prepare for the SHTG indication, we plan to further scale all of these capabilities to realize the full potential of olefarsen. Donidolorsen for the prophylactic treatment of HAE is our next planned launch after olezarsen.

Speaker 3

And just like olezarsen, we recently initiated an expanded access program for Donadulorcin in the U. S. So that patients have access to treatment ahead of potential approval. HAE is an attractive opportunity for Ionis. There are more than 20,000 patients with HAE in the U.

Speaker 3

S. And Europe. Within the U. S, prophylactic treatment is well accepted by patients and physicians. We know where this concentrated base of treating physicians are and they are primarily located in large centers of excellence.

Speaker 3

Many patients with HAE are unsatisfied with their current treatments and looking for an option that reduces frequency and severity of attacks with attractive tolerability and convenience. We plan to build an efficiently sized field team to reach prescribers and support the needs of these patients. Based on the Phase 3 results, we anticipate Donnie Doloresen could evolve the HAE prophylactic treatment paradigm and address the unmet needs of patients. Patients tell us that they would welcome a medicine that provides strong efficacy along with an attractive tolerability administration profile. And we believe that Donnie Doloresen could be that medicine.

Speaker 3

Donnie Doloresen has the potential to extend dosing at intervals to every 4 to 8 weeks using an auto injector. The current standard of care is dosed every 2 to 4 weeks using a vial and syringe. We're looking forward to the upcoming Phase 3 OASIS HAE and OASIS Plus data presentations for Donnie Delorson at the end of this month. The OASIS Plus presentations will include open label extension data in patients treated up to 1.5 years. In addition, we will be presenting data from the first of its kind switch study, which we believe will be very informative for physicians and patients for two important reasons.

Speaker 3

First, we expect these data will assist physicians in understanding how to manage patients effectively when switching to dinutolorsen. And second, these data will include a patient preference survey answering the important question, do you prefer Donnie Doloresen or do you or your prior treatment? With positive Phase 3 and long term Phase 2 OLE data together with every 4 or 8 weeks self administration, we believe dinulorcin could be an important new prophylactic treatment for HAE if approved. I'm pleased to say that we are right where we should be in preparing for our upcoming launches. Our commercial infrastructure is in place and we will be ready to begin delivering our medicines to people in need as these new therapies come to the market.

Speaker 3

This is a very exciting time for Ionis and I'm proud to be a part of it. Now over to Beth.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Kyle, and I couldn't agree more. This really is an exciting time at Ionis as we launch our first co commercialized medicine, and we are closer than ever to bringing a steady cadence of our own medicines to the market. Our Q1 financial results reflect our progress toward achieving this important goal. We earned revenues of $119,000,000 in the first quarter. Half of our revenue was from commercial products comprised primarily of substantial SPINRAZA royalties.

Speaker 4

Our commercial revenue also included the addition of royalties from the U. S. Launch of WAYNUWA. The other half of our revenue was from programs under our R and D collaborations reflecting the value that our pipeline and technology continued to generate. Our non GAAP operating expenses modestly increased year over year as we continued to invest our capital resources toward growth opportunities.

Speaker 4

As expected, our SG and A expenses increased as we and AstraZeneca initiated the launch of WAYNUIT in the U. S. And as we made investments ahead of the olazarsen and dinodolourcin launches. Our R and D expenses also increased due to the timing of our late stage program activities. We expect our R and D expenses to stabilize this year as several late stage studies have ended.

Speaker 4

And we ended the Q1 with cash and investments of $2,200,000,000 Our first quarter results keep us on track to meet our 2024 financial guidance. Looking ahead, we project our revenues in subsequent quarters to be modestly higher compared to the Q1 based on anticipated regulatory milestones, license fees and R and D funding from partners. For example, we will earn $20,000,000 if to grow as the WAYNEUWA launch ramps up and as the CalSati EU launch gets underway assuming approval. We continue to project our full year 2024 operating expenses to increase in the mid to high single digit percent range compared to 2023, excluding the impact of onetime costs last year. This increase will be driven primarily from SG and A expenses as we continue investing in our go to market activities to support our planned independent launches and our minority portion of WAYNEU'S sales and marketing costs, which are in the high teens to low 20% range.

Speaker 4

We expect to end the year with $1,700,000,000 in cash and investments. And as we invest in the substantial opportunities before us today that we expect will unlock next level value. So as you can see, we delivered a solid Q1. And now I'd like to provide you with a compelling financial vision of our clear path to drive increased value. With a rich pipeline that includes a growing number of wholly owned programs, we have a clear path to positive cash flow powered by sustained revenue growth.

Speaker 4

To fully realize the opportunities before us, we will continue to make significant investments over the next few years. We are investing efficiently in 4 key areas. 1st, as you just heard from Kyle, we are making significant medicine, we build key commercial functions and are gaining important experience that we can leverage as we prepare for our upcoming launches for olefarsen and dinadolorsen. As we prepare for these launches over the next couple of years, we will scale our capabilities and increase our go to market activities in line with the combined multibillion dollar revenue potential that these medicines represent. 2nd, we will continue to invest in advancing our late stage benefit.

Speaker 4

We expect that our level of investment in this area will be relatively stable over the next few years because, first of all, all of our large Phase 3 studies today are at or near full enrollment, which is the heaviest period of investment. And we have concluded several studies recently and are now able to reallocate R and D resources from these programs to our 3rd area of investment, our earlier stage wholly owned program. Our investments in advancing these programs set us up to deliver our next wave of medicines to patients. And finally, we are investing in cutting edge technologies to ensure we continue to deliver innovative medicines with competitive profiles. With these investments, we have an outsized opportunity deliver medicines to patients in need, which in turn positions us to earn multibillion dollar revenues and achieve positive cash flow on a sustained basis.

Speaker 4

This slide depicts these opportunities. And as you can see, we have many medicines that can power our revenue growth. Beyond our upcoming launches for olezarsen for FCS and donadolursen for HAE, we have several additional wholly owned medicines in development that could reach patients over the next several years. This includes our planned launch of olosarsen, our wholly owned medicine for the treatment of severe high triglycerides that has blockbuster potential. Additionally, we have a growing pipeline of potential groundbreaking disease modifying neurology medicines we expect to bring to patients over the near to midterm, including zilganersen for Alexander disease, which is currently in Phase III development.

Speaker 4

We also have multiple partnered programs that are poised to provide substantial future royalty revenue and sales milestones assuming continued advancement. These include pelicarcin, a first in class investigational medicine that Novartis is developing to address the millions of patients with Lp driven cardiovascular disease. Data and a regulatory submission for palicarsen are planned for next year. The pirabirsen, an investigational medicine that GSK is developing in a large Phase III program to treat the millions of patients with HBV infection. And of course, we have WAYNEUHA with the ATTR polyneuropathy launch on track and our landmark cardiotransformed study progressing well, we believe that WAYNEUHA has the potential to become the preferred treatment for ATTR in the substantial and growing market.

Speaker 4

All of these programs combined could generate up to $6,000,000,000 in milestone payments and that's in addition to royalties up to this mid-twenty percent range. And all of this is on top of our substantial and sustainable current revenues. So as you can see, over the next few years, we plan to make strategic investments in our commercial opportunities in advancing our rich pipeline and in our technology. We expect these investments to power strong revenue growth and positive cash flow as our medicines reach more patients in need, positioning us to deliver next level value for all Ionis stakeholders for years to come. And with that, I'll turn the call back to Brett.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Beth. Indeed, Ionis is well positioned to continue building on our positive momentum as we execute on all our strategic priorities. We've arrived where we are today by being focused on a clear vision and a clear set of strategic objectives, which include building and advancing our pipeline and delivering medicines that we conceive, discover and develop directly to patients. We've established Ionis as a leader in oligonucleotide therapeutics with several approved drugs and one of the richest mid and late stage pipelines in the industry. Our pipeline is delivering.

Speaker 2

We achieved multiple marketing approvals and positive key data readouts over the past year and are poised to build on a strong momentum in the near term. We've prioritized building our wholly owned pipeline and we expect to advance several of these medicines into clinical development this year. In parallel, our partner programs are progressing on track with key Phase 2 data readouts planned this year and important Phase 3 readouts next year and beyond. We're extending our leadership position in oleganucleotide therapeutics by expanding and diversifying our technology, further optimizing our capabilities for existing therapeutic areas and opening up new areas for drug discovery. All of this sets us up to continue bringing a steady cadence of new medicines, transformational medicines to patients for years to come.

Speaker 2

We're looking forward to sharing our progress as we build on our recent achievements and accomplish all our strategic objectives. And with that, I'll now open the call up for questions. Steve, we can take questions now.

Operator

Yes. Thank you. And the first question comes from Debajit Chappadhyay with Guggenheim Securities.

Speaker 5

Hey, good morning and thanks for taking the questions. Firstly on Donnatal arson and olefarsen, between the expanded access, the OLE and switch, how many FCS and HAE patients do you currently have on therapy who could be low hanging fruits for the early commercial adoption?

Speaker 2

So, for olezarsen, virtually all of the patients, which was approximately 60 patients or so Eugene in the Phase III study rolled over into the open label extension and they're continuing in that trial in the open label extension now. So that's a I mean that's a pretty good measure there. For the expanded access program for Olasarsen and FCS, it's just getting started. So it's early days. We'll Doloresen.

Speaker 2

Don and Doloresen, virtually all of the patients that completed the trial, which was the vast majority, well, in excess of 90% of the patients completed the trial, elected to roll over into the open label extension. And they've stayed and they've remained in the open label extension. The EAP is just got started, I think last week for Don and Dolores.

Speaker 5

Got it. And one quick one, are there any Part D dynamics we should be monitoring with respect to VANUYA launch versus

Operator

Ambuterin?

Speaker 3

Yes, I'd be happy to talk about that. Thanks for the question. So first, I'll just say the launch is going really well. The payers are covering the medication as expected. There's experience in the space already with polyneuropathy.

Speaker 3

And so the criteria for use is largely understood from the majority of payers. On the Part D side of things, we're continuing to navigate that very efficiently. AstraZeneca is leading the way on the market access side of things and they're doing a fantastic job. And our patient services program is really supporting patients effectively to educate them on the process and also provide out of pocket support where appropriate for commercial patients and supporting them just through the regular reimbursement process that you would expect and also working directly with the offices. So overall, I think the payer landscape is positive.

Speaker 3

The patient experience is very positive and we're continuing to execute the launch very effectively.

Speaker 6

Got it. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Gary Nachman with Raymond James.

Speaker 7

Thanks guys. So on elazoresyn, when will you know the exact review timeline for FCS? I know you're assuming a priority review, but when will that be confirmed? And then talk a bit more about the commercial launch preparations for olezarsen for FCS. How big of a team will you need overall?

Speaker 7

And describe some of the synergies with the infrastructure already built in there for Waynewa, how that could be leveraged?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Gary. I'll take the first one and Kyle could talk a little bit about the field prep and plans for commercialization. Maybe Jonathan can jump in too. So the we expect to hear from the FDA 60 days or so after we submitted and we submitted in March and at or in April, sorry, we submitted in April and it's a 60 day timeline for that. Once we hear from the FDA, we'll expect to hear about our PDUFA date, whether or not we are there expecting to have an add time.

Speaker 2

We don't expect to have an ad count, but that would be information that would come in that update. And thirdly, whether we receive priority review as well in addition to that. And we'll announce all of that at the same when we hear from the FDA on the acceptance of the NDA. Kyle, talk a little bit about the launch for SCS?

Speaker 3

Yes. I'll talk about the synergies and then I'll turn it over to Jonathan to talk about some of the field force sizing and thinking around the go to market strategy there. But the synergies with Waynewa, I think what's important within the organization is, first of all, we've been very calculated and very measured in terms of the way that we build the internal infrastructure so that we're efficient and being smart about the capabilities that we're building and the timing of that build. But we've currently got in place marketing capabilities, which I think are very robust with strong leadership and experience in the marketing capacity. Our commercial operations group is stood up, so things like the CRM and data and analytics and those types of infrastructures are in place.

Speaker 3

Our market access team is doing a fantastic job of doing market insights work and And

Speaker 1

finally,

Speaker 3

and really importantly is the medical affairs group. And finally, and really importantly is the medical affairs group. We established that team a little over 3 years ago, and that team has been interacting with KOLs. They've had strong presence at Congresses. There's been a lot of data and dissemination.

Speaker 3

We've collected a lot of information externally and brought that knowledge back into the organization as well. So, I mean, overall, I think what you're hearing is the capacity and the ability and the infrastructure and the timing of all of this is really coming together nicely and the execution I've been very impressed with and very pleased with where we're at right now. So Jonathan, maybe specific to FCS?

Speaker 8

Yes. I think there are, as Kyle alluded to, a lot of synergies between the capabilities we've built to support the WAYNEUER launch, particularly around areas such as patient services that will transfer very relevantly to the FCS launch. A bit of background. As I'm sure you're aware, the FCS launch is a rare disease. There are a relatively small number of patients who are managed by a relatively small number of HCPs.

Speaker 8

So as you can imagine, the footprint or the scale of our commercial build will meet the needs of those customer group that customer group and indeed those patients. So given the rare disease nature, it will be appropriately built to service that population.

Speaker 7

All right, great. And then on Donnie, just describe the latest thinking on the data you'll be including in the NDA and how you're thinking about positioning the drug from a competitive standpoint in terms of switches versus getting naive patients in that market? And Kyle, how big of an effort you'll need there from a commercial standpoint relative to olefarsen? Thank you.

Speaker 3

Yes. Let me start by talking a little bit about the market. We strongly believe based on the profile of Donny Delorson that we'll be able to evolve the prophylactic treatment paradigm. This is a very competitive market as you just outlined. It is a switch market, right?

Speaker 3

A lot of these patients are already identified. They're currently being treated. Switch and the switch data that we're going to roll out at the end of the month to be very, very relevant in this space and also innovative and different. The prevalence overall, we're looking at 20,000 plus patients between the U. S.

Speaker 3

And EU. And the data sets in terms of differentiation and the way that we're going to go about this, really support a couple of things. Number 1, the primary endpoint, obviously, around reduced rates of HAE attacks. But the durability of that I think is really, really important to note in the data. We've got 4 or 8 week dosing that's differentiated versus the competition.

Speaker 3

We've got a safe and tolerable therapy. And the switch data and being able to show patient preference is going to be really critical, I think, not only to patients, but also to prescribers in terms of how to do this and to payers in terms of what is the cost of doing this and how do we do this effectively to make sure that it's efficient in terms of making that transition. So overall, I think between the data and the marketplace and the way things are setting up, we're going to be really poised to do a great job here in this space. In terms of the commercial size, we'll probably be competitive in terms of the sizing, 50 to 100 ballpark in terms of field infrastructure. And I expect to be able to start putting that team in place later this year pending the regulatory timelines and process that will be outlined later.

Speaker 3

Yes. And the regulatory timelines and process that will be outlined later. Yes. And regarding, Gary, the NDA,

Speaker 2

thanks, Kyle. We plan to submit for approval both for every 4 week dosing as well as every 8 week dosing will for every 4 week dosing as well as every 8 week dosing will include open label extension data at the support and safety databases necessary for approval. We're also expecting to include instructions based on the switch data on how physicians will be able to switch patients from an existing prophylactic over to dominant belorsen. And related to that, we're very much looking forward to sharing in-depth the switch data along with the open label Phase 3 open label extension data and the Phase 3 data at IAAG on May 31st of this month. The switch data is really is absolutely the 1st prospective study ever conducted in patients with HAE, switching them from one prophylactic to another.

Speaker 2

And we're looking forward to sharing data not only on how well patients are protected from HAE attacks compared to baseline rates, but also compliance, how long they stay on treatment and a preference that whether patients prefer donegaloresen over their previous treatment and why they choose that. So it's very important study. It's the first of its kind and it's also a litmus test for the market in the United States, which is a switch market.

Speaker 7

Great, very helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Jessica Fye with JPMorgan.

Speaker 9

Hey guys, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. On that path to sustained positive cash flow, can you talk a little bit about over what time horizon you see the company being able to achieve that? And then just a quick second one for ION-five forty one, your taxon II asset for ALS. Can you set the stage for what to watch for in those Phase 2 results and just remind me the timing for that readout?

Speaker 9

Thank you.

Speaker 4

Sure, Jess. Hi. Good morning. So as you think about ION, as you think about our opportunities, obviously, we've got a substantial opportunity ahead of us with the rich pipeline that we have, particularly the late stage pipeline, multibillion dollar revenue opportunity. It's going to take us a few years of continued investment to bring those drugs through development, through the regulatory process and launch those medicines.

Speaker 4

And we want those launches and obviously to be ramping. But it's really the strength of multiple sources of revenue, our sustained and substantial base of revenue today, the ability for that to grow, the ability for partnered programs to reach the market and generate substantial royalties and sales milestones. And then to build on that with our product revenues with our wholly owned medicines as those come to market and those launches ramp up that will really drive the positive cash flow. And I think what's important to remember about Ionis, which is very unique for us versus others in our space, is that we're not that far away. Unlike a lot of companies who are launching their first medicines, we already have a very substantial base of revenue that generates cash for the company and helps offset our investments today.

Speaker 4

We anticipate that will continue and that means that the delta that we have to cover when we finally get these products to market is actually fairly modest and very achievable goal for us. So hopefully that gives you a perspective on how to think about it.

Speaker 2

We're looking forward to the other part of your other question, Jess, having data results from the Phase 2 study for antitaxin II in non genetic ALS around mid year this year. Eugene, please comment on what we're looking for.

Speaker 6

Yes. It's thanks for your question, Jess. It's our first in patient experience and primarily this is a safety study. It's a dose ranging study where we're obviously assessing safety of increasing doses of oligo in patients with sporadic ALS as Brett said. So really the key goal of that study is to demonstrate and assess safety of various dose levels of intrathecal medicine.

Speaker 6

We're obviously or Biogen is looking at other surrogates of ALS progression and those have been well described such as neurofilaments. So of course, there will be some of those exploratory endpoints that are used to assess whether there is any activity on key ALS progression measures.

Speaker 2

Based on the CalSati outcome, neurofilament light chain will obviously be a key measure and that will also be exploratory measures of ALS functional rating scale and other sub domains within there.

Operator

Great. Those

Speaker 1

are fairly short.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Joseph Springer with Needham and Company.

Speaker 10

Hi, thanks for taking our questions. Just a follow-up on Donnie Doloresen and the SWITCH study. You mentioned a patient survey and some other data. But maybe can you put a little bit finer point on what data specifically you will need to see from the SWITCH study that would resonate most from a commercial uptake perspective?

Speaker 2

Well, I'll start and Kyle can jump in. It's really the totality of the data, Joey. We're going to first of all, we will share data with current treatment that are current treatments that are available on the market today. So it won't just be one treatment that we're switching. We're going to be looking at patients that have been on previously been on TAKHZERO or LIDEO or other prophylactic treatments.

Speaker 2

What their baseline HAE attack rates were coming into study and then how that HAE attack rate evolves as patients continue to be on treatment. That's very important for the commercial to have that data for the commercial launch. The second, as I mentioned, it's going to we're going to also ask patients, which they prefer in the trial and why. There'll be a survey that we're looking forward to sharing in the study as well. And then thirdly, and very importantly, we'll be able to have the data, the instructions and the algorithms, if you will, which are different for different prophylactic treatments on how much time it takes before Don and Doloresen will how much time they need to be on and wean off existing prophylactic treatments and move on to Don and Doloresen based on previous treatments.

Speaker 2

But it's really important, right, Kyle, to have this data for the launch of Don and Doloresen?

Speaker 3

Yes. I think first, it's highly differentiated. This hasn't been done before. And I think that differentiation is going to help us. This is an unsatisfied market, right?

Speaker 3

I mean, we already see that patients are moving between therapies as it is right now. And they're moving because they're

Operator

either not adequately controlled or they're having

Speaker 3

breakthroughs or sometimes it's that And so when we're thinking about the data, it's going to be helpful for us to know in a very formal way the feedback from patients, number 1. And number 2, to help inform physicians about how to do this safely and effectively. And finally, on the payer side, payers want to make sure that they're not paying for stay on Donnie Delorsen without them having to have multiple therapies overlapping or that they're having to pay for and cover for these patients.

Speaker 10

Great. Thanks for taking our questions.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Jason Gerberry with Bank of America.

Speaker 11

Hey guys, thanks for taking my questions. 2 for me. Just can you comment on the Phase 3 SHTG trials and how acute pancreatitis events are accruing on

Speaker 3

a blinded basis versus

Speaker 11

events you've seen in other trials or your best estimate of what that event rate may look like? And then my second question is around TTR cardiomyopathy and the potential for combination therapy. On Island seems pretty adamant that just payers won't cover a stabilizer and a silencer and there are questions if tafamidis will even go generic this decade. So I'm just curious like what work you've done around combo that it will get covered and that there's an attainable clinical bar for combo. I know there's a lot in that, but just love if you can address that.

Speaker 11

Thanks.

Speaker 2

All right. Before handing over to Kyle and Jonathan about the dynamic TTR cardiomyopathy market combination monotherapy, Let me comment on the SHTG. So as a reminder, Jason, we saw remarkable reductions in acute pancreatitis in our FCS balance study for olicarsen. Not only was the reduction substantial, the number of AP events in the placebo group were much more than we anticipated going into that study. The point, I guess, a very important point that I want to emphasize is that we don't really know people it's not really understood well what the AP event rates are in FCS or SHTG.

Speaker 2

It is these trials that we're conducting that are going to add a lot of light, shed a lot of light on to what the true AP events are for both FCS and SHTG. Virtually all of the AP events that occurred in the SCS study were in the placebo group. Certainly in expect and do expect fewer AP events just based on compared to FCS based on the fact that the mean triglyceride reductions are lower in SHTG than they are in FCS. But with that said, we have many patients in our SHTG trial that are in the 1,000 in the FCS range in this study. But the mean reduction mean TG levels will be less and therefore you would expect the rate of AP events to be a bit lower in SHTG.

Speaker 2

With that said, we are seeing in a blinded manner AP events and they're accumulating pretty robustly in study. If we can replicate anything like what we saw in FCS, the majority of those patients we would

Operator

expect to be in the placebo group because the olelarsen

Speaker 2

is expected to produce triglycerides even better from a magnitude standpoint in SHCG versus FCS. So at the balanced FCS study certainly gave us more confidence in a positive AP outcome in the study. Reminder, the primary endpoint is triglyceride reductions, AP events in the SHTG study is a key secondary. Jonathan, you want to comment on the changing dynamics in TTR cardiomyopathy, how we're seeing monotherapy combination play out? Yes.

Speaker 8

I think the specific question for me around the payer's willingness to cover the combo. And I guess my first point is very difficult to answer the question given that we don't yet have any data and therefore don't really understand the profile of the combination. That said, I think there are plenty of other therapy areas, whether it's Gilead's work in Hep C, where their treatments were 7 figures, plenty of oncology drugs, where there are very expensive combinations that are still covered by payers. And what I can tell you specifically with regards to Cardio Transform and the combination usages, the market research that we've completed has shown that there is a willingness from payers to cover the combination. Obviously, the caveat to that is it will be data dependent.

Speaker 8

But so long as with data from what's effectively the largest study in this area, we're fairly confident that we if we're able to demonstrate the benefit that, that will then ultimately be covered by the payers. And we're very well positioned

Speaker 2

to demonstrate added benefit in combination based on the design of our trial, the size of our trial and the percentage of patients we have on tafamidis versus monotherapy.

Speaker 11

Got it. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Yanan Zhu with Wells Fargo.

Speaker 12

Great. Thanks for taking our questions. Maybe to follow-up on ATTR cardiomyopathy, just curious any color on the blinded event rate, any update there And any thinking about the primary endpoint analysis? And also as a competitor reads out their data, what are the key data points and that you will be focused on learning? Thanks.

Speaker 2

So, thank you, Yannen. So the blinded event rates in the CARDIA transformed trial are tracking well. They're on track for what we expected. And that when I say that, I'm referring to both mortality as well as hospitalizations and the nature of those hospitalizations. We're looking at it very quickly very carefully.

Speaker 2

And there's no changes to our plans on primary endpoint or timing. As we said in our presentation, as early as next year, still on track. The study where to go to its completion, 140 weeks of treatment that would be mid year 2026. We're focused almost very much on the finding event rate to drive the decision with our partner AstraZeneca on when this read study out. We're very much looking forward to the readout of the first silencer in TTR cardiomyopathy from a Phase 3 trial later this year.

Speaker 2

If learn something from it, it could influence our timing for reading out the study. We're very much looking forward to it. And really can't go say much more about it than that at this

Speaker 1

point. Great.

Speaker 12

If I may ask a follow-up on Angelman syndrome readout, what might be the venue? And how do we think about the relative importance of the biomarker EEG versus clinical end points like CGI and 84 when we learn the data? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. Eugene will comment on the clinical endpoints, biomarker EEG and other in daily 4, etcetera. We don't we have not settled on how and when exactly we will report out the next step for the Angelman's program. As you know, Yanan Biogen has an option to license this program. And as we've said before, when we do announce the next step for the program, when the data reads out, we'll also planning to comment on what Biogen's plans are for the next steps that they option in for the program.

Speaker 2

As far as Forum, we have not settled on that either. There is an Angelman's Conference in August of this year, which we regularly attend each year. That could be a forum, but we haven't made any firm decisions. And of course, if Biogen licenses the program, they'll be in the driver's seat to make those calls ultimately. Yuuji, can you talk a little bit about the endpoints that we're looking at in Angelman's?

Speaker 6

Yes, sure. Thanks for your question, Yanan. Yes, so of course, we're this is truly a learning study for us. And as such, we're really exploring a range of different outcomes, including, of course EEG, which has built quite a bit of data both through natural history as well as some of the early data that was shared with the community. But importantly, of course, the clinical assessments that include standard scales that you mentioned, Bayley-four, of course, Vineland is another very common scale used in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Speaker 6

But we're also looking at other aspects of this disease, essentially covering a very broad range of presentation and symptoms for angela and that includes things like sleep and behavior and other things. So we're truly trying to learn as much as possible about the impact that our drug may have on all of those features of this pretty complex disorder.

Speaker 12

Got it. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Luke Easi with RBC.

Speaker 13

Great. Thanks so much for taking the question and congrats on the progress. Maybe one PCR part of my outlook with Eugene, if I may. What was your reaction to AstraZeneca powering their Phase 3 trial for their monoclonal antibody at 1,000 patients? Basically, we now have Alnylam Helios B of 665 patients.

Speaker 13

Your trial is 1400 patients and AstraZeneca's monoclonal antibody at 1,000 patients. Does this mean that Alnylam is underpowered? You are overpowered in the monoclonal antibodies, the purpose of powered? Any thoughts there are much appreciated. And then maybe on AGT, what's the latest thinking on this target?

Speaker 13

Roche is clearly very excited about it and even willing to run the cardiovascular outcome trial, while it feels that your target is not getting the same amount of airtime that it once did. Am I off here? And if so, what's next for this program? And then finally, on HAE, I think on Page 17, you're citing that this asset obviously includes mere eliminations of attacks. Wondering if you can comment on whether that applies to both Q4W and Q8W or only Q4W?

Speaker 13

Thanks so much.

Speaker 3

A lot to unpack there.

Speaker 2

Can I comment on the trial design? So we're not that close to AstraZeneca's antibody depleter for TTR cardiomyopathy, Luca. And so the size of their study, the powering assumptions that went into that, all that, it's not in our area. We of course talk to them pretty regularly about how these two mechanisms could synergize down the road or so, but certainly we're not involved in the design of their trial. I don't think powering assumptions anything?

Speaker 6

No, just on our trial, as you know, we spoke about it a lot. And certainly, we feel pretty confident in our assumptions that are based on emerging data. So that's what I feel comfortable speaking about. I can't speculate what others use in their assumptions.

Speaker 2

It's a different mechanism. We believe in our trial design. We believe that we have the right size of the trial design and the makeup and the demographics in our CARDIO TRANSFORM study. With that, I can't really I don't want to comment anymore on what others are doing. AGT, no change.

Speaker 2

We are continuing to progress our plans as we've stated earlier that we plan to partner this program and we're still planning to do that and we're making progress. For HAE, we know as we will share with you at the Iyaki at the end of this month, both every 4 week and every 8 week dosing showed highly statistically significant benefit in reducing HAE attack rates, but every 4 week dosing had a greater reduction in HAE attack. So when we refer to near elimination, certainly every 4 week data comes closer to that than every 8 week dosing.

Speaker 13

Got it. Thanks so much.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from Salveen Richter with Goldman Sachs.

Speaker 4

Thanks for taking the question. This is Tommy on for Salveen. So just to follow-up on the previous commentary about the Medicare Part D and Lifesign. Do you think that how are you thinking about the possibilities that there could be a higher level of scrutiny, especially in cardiomyopathy, given the entrance of another stabilizer potentially this year? Thank you.

Operator

Alan, do you

Speaker 2

want to take that?

Speaker 3

For the Medicare D population, I mean things are evolving a little bit, right, with the IRA regulations and things that have come into play. And historically, there's been quite a bit of distinction around the out of pocket expenses for patients and the way that those had to be paid in terms of timing and timelines around that. I think where we're at right now with Medicare Part D is a much more favorable position than we have been historically, and it's only anticipated to get better, in the coming years. So out of pocket expenses are going to be limited for those patients either $3,000 or so this year, it goes down to $2,000 or so next year. And then there's also the ability to spread those costs over time.

Speaker 3

So it's not a one time assessment for the patient, which I think is very positive. So when we're thinking about Waynewa and other programs that we have that will go through the Medicare Part D channel, I think we're very encouraged that we'll be able to work effectively within that system and support patients appropriately. And keep in mind, it's not just about our treatment for Medicare Part D, but it's a combination of all of the therapies that those patients are on that will hit that ultimate cap of $3,000 or $2,000 respectively. So think we're well positioned in a good place to the reimbursement channels to allow patients to have access and appropriate access to our treatments.

Speaker 12

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And the next question comes from David Lebowitz with Citi. Please go ahead, Mr. Lebowitz. Your line is live.

Speaker 2

Hello. Would you be able to comment on IN-two twenty four and DGET-two as far as the data that you recently presented and what you think about that therapy given the burgeoning NASH landscape? Sure, David. Yes, we couldn't have been more pleased with the Phase 2 data we reported earlier this year on DGAT2 in patients with MASH. This is the first time so our target is dGAD2.

Speaker 2

Vox by targeting dGAD2, we're blocking the triglyceride synthesis pathway in the liver. We certainly expected robust reductions in liver fat based on this mechanism. We were very pleasantly surprised to see not only that, but we also saw reductions in NASH resolution that is inflammation of the liver by biopsy as well as a turnaround of fibrosis, positive reduction in fibrosis in these patients. First time ever a treatment that blocks fat synthesis was shown to actually achieve this. As we mentioned, this program as exciting as it is, doesn't fit really well within our focus at Ionis on our wholly owned pipeline in neurology and cardiovascular and maybe specialty rare opportunities.

Speaker 2

So we think this program fits best

Speaker 1

with a

Speaker 2

partner and that's what we're doing is we're moving towards partnering this program to take it to the next step of stage of development, which could certainly be a Phase 3 program. There's certainly interest and those conversations are progressing pretty well. It's early in the discussions, but they're progressing well. Thanks for taking my question. Pleasure, David.

Speaker 2

And maybe we have time for one last question before wrapping things up.

Operator

Yes. And that last one comes from Costas Belarus with BMO.

Speaker 14

Hello, everyone. Thanks for taking our question and congrats on the progress. Can you remind us what is the status of SAP ablution in PV? And when should we expect updates from this program given the increasing activity in that space and the multiple readouts in 2024? Also any thoughts around the commercial opportunity of that program would be helpful.

Speaker 14

Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Kostas. Yes, the saproliferation program in polycythemia vera Phase 2 continues to progress well. I think we've said before, it's an open label study and we've said before that we're clearly seeing evidence of robust activity efficacy in this study. And what we're doing in this Phase 2 study that is reductions in hematocrit red cell counts, normalizing in many cases in many patients. And what we're doing is dose ranging to understand what the right dose and dose treatment will be for a potential advancement into Phase 3 development.

Speaker 2

So we're looking forward to sharing that data potentially this year. It continues. The as far as the market opportunity, it's a great question. We're assessing that now. We don't have an answer for you.

Speaker 2

It's a very interesting area and our commercial organization is well on its way in doing all the market research for the opportunity in the United States and outside of the United States. So we have not decided on where this program fits best at Ionis or the partner. We're going to try to provide an update by the end of the year on the program. So thanks for the question, Costas, and thanks everybody for joining us today who participated on our call. We plan to continue all this great momentum throughout the year focused on next level value for our shareholders and all IACI on May 31.

Speaker 2

So stay tuned for that and we're looking forward to the webcast as well on that day. We hope you can join us on the webcast. And until then, thank you everybody for joining in and have a great day.

Speaker 4

Goodbye.

Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

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Key Takeaways

  • WAYNEUWA launch is on track in the U.S. through a co-commercialisation partnership with AstraZeneca, with European and Canadian approvals expected later this year and Cardio Transform trial data due as early as 2025.
  • Positive Phase 3 BALANCE results for olezarsen in familial chylomicronemia syndrome showed marked triglyceride and acute pancreatitis reductions, and the NDA has been submitted to the FDA for potential year-end approval, with an EU filing planned.
  • Dinutulorsen met primary and key secondary endpoints in the Phase 3 OASIS trial for hereditary angioedema prophylaxis at both 4-week and 8-week dosing, supported by long-term extension and switch study data, and is advancing toward FDA and EMA submissions.
  • Ionis’s rich pipeline now includes 12 neurology candidates—with six wholly owned programs entering clinical development by year-end and the ORBIT study initiated—and positive Phase 2 data for ION-224 (DGAT2) in NASH, which is progressing toward partnership.
  • In Q1, Ionis reported $119 million in revenues (50% commercial, 50% R&D collaborations) and $2.2 billion in cash, and is investing in commercial capabilities, late-stage and early-stage programs, and technology to support sustained revenue growth and future cash flow.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Q1 2024
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