Adherex Technologies Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Fennec Pharmaceuticals reported strong Q1 2026 results, with net product sales rising about 73% year over year to $15.1 million and positive operating cash flow. Management said it was the sixth straight quarter of sales growth.
• The company’s expanded sales force under Project Ignite is starting to pay off, with the target prescriber base growing from roughly 1,300 to more than 5,000. Executives said the broader reach is driving demand from both new and existing prescribers, while the Fennec HEARS support program boosted completed infusions and hit an 80% conversion benchmark for the first time.
• Management also highlighted growing clinical interest in PEDMARK beyond pediatrics, including investigator-initiated studies in AYA and adult cancer patients and multiple ASCO abstracts. Fennec said its cash position remains strong enough, alongside projected revenue, to support the current operating plan through 2026.

Adherex Technologies NASDAQ: FENC executives said Fennec Pharmaceuticals entered 2026 with stronger commercial momentum for PEDMARK, reporting higher first-quarter sales, positive operating cash flow and early signs that recent sales force investments are increasing demand.

On the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey S. Hackman called 2026 “a defining period” for Fennec, citing progress in commercial execution, clinical interest in PEDMARK and the company’s financial position. PEDMARK is approved for pediatric patients one month of age and older with localized, non-metastatic solid tumors to reduce the risk of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity, or permanent hearing loss.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Andrade said net product sales totaled $15.1 million in the first quarter, compared with $8.8 million in the prior-year period, an increase of approximately 73%. Andrade said the quarter marked the sixth consecutive quarter of net product sales growth since new commercial leadership took over.

Sales Force Expansion Drives Broader Reach

Chief Commercial Officer Terry Evans, participating in his first Fennec earnings call, said the company’s first-quarter performance reflected benefits from “key strategic enhancements” made across the commercial organization. In late 2025, Fennec launched an initiative called Project Ignite, which included investment in 14 new territories and four frontline managers.

Evans said the expansion increased the company’s prescriber target base from about 1,300 to more than 5,000 targets. Much of the first quarter was spent recruiting, onboarding, training and integrating new commercial employees, with the process concluding at the company’s national meeting in early March.

“There is a natural ramp period with any field force expansion, and we view much of Q1 as laying that groundwork,” Evans said. He added that the expanded team is now positioned to drive greater reach, frequency and account penetration.

In response to an analyst question, Hackman said the company is seeing a healthy mix of demand from both new and existing prescribers, including early patient activity from newly added territories. Evans said new starts in the second quarter have been balanced across academic centers and community practices, with growth in both adolescent and young adult, or AYA, patients and pediatric patients.

Fennec HEARS Program Shows Higher Infusion Activity

Executives highlighted Fennec HEARS, the company’s patient support program, as a key component of converting prescriptions into completed therapy. The program supports coverage, reimbursement, nurse-led administration and at-home infusion services.

Evans said completed infusions through Fennec HEARS increased 48% quarter over quarter. The company is maintaining an approximately even mix between in-office and at-home infusions, which Evans said supports access and flexibility for patients and providers.

He also said conversion rates through Fennec HEARS reached the company’s benchmark of 80% for the first time, while adherence trends were approximately 80%, which he described as a significant improvement from a year earlier.

Executives said April showed further momentum. Andrade said April was the company’s highest demand month ever, while Evans said demand through Fennec HEARS in April alone was more than 50% of total Fennec HEARS demand for the first quarter. Hackman said roughly 50% of April demand was flowing through Fennec HEARS.

Evans said first-quarter demand was driven by prescribing in three core tumor types: testicular, cervical and head and neck cancers. He described those areas as foundational to the company’s commercial opportunity.

Clinical Interest Expands Beyond Pediatric Setting

Hackman said Fennec is seeing growing clinical interest in PEDMARK and its broader potential. The company recently announced a third investigator-initiated study with the University of Arizona Cancer Center to evaluate PEDMARK in AYA and adult patients with head and neck and testicular cancers receiving cisplatin. That follows institution-led studies with Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute and City of Hope.

Hackman said the studies could help support broader clinical adoption of PEDMARK in AYA and adult cancer patients receiving cisplatin-based treatments. Four abstracts from key opinion leaders evaluating PEDMARK’s utility in preventing cisplatin-induced ototoxicity were accepted for presentation at the ASCO annual meeting, he said.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pierre Sayad said interest in investigator-initiated studies is coming directly from key opinion leaders, including across tumor types, AYA and adult settings, localized tumors and metastatic tumors. He said the company is considering how maturing data could support potential regulatory discussions and submissions to clinical guidelines groups, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Hackman noted that PEDMARK has a National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2A recommendation for use in AYA patients. Sayad said areas of interest include head and neck, testicular, cervical, bladder and lung cancers, with the broader principle that “wherever cisplatin goes, PEDMARK absolutely has a strong potential of helping those patients.”

Financial Position and International Outlook

Andrade said operating expenses, defined as research and development plus selling, general and administrative expenses excluding stock-based compensation, were approximately $14 million in the quarter. The year-over-year increase of about $6 million was driven by higher SG&A expense, including expanded marketing investment and increased commercial headcount to support PEDMARK growth.

Fennec ended the quarter with $40.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, up $3.3 million during the period. Andrade said the increase included $2.3 million in operating cash flow and approximately $1 million in proceeds from option exercises.

Andrade said the company expects about $50 million in cash operating expenses in 2026, with more than 60% expected in the first half of the year. He said second-quarter ending cash is expected to be lower than first-quarter levels because of collection cycles, but the company expects third-quarter cash to be positive and to grow cash during the second half of 2026.

Regarding Europe, Andrade said Fennec does not expect to receive the German milestone payment from partner Norgine. However, he said Norgine is expected to launch PEDMARQSI in multiple markets in 2026, with royalties starting in the mid-teens and potential future sales milestones. He said more than $200 million in milestones are available, with at least half tied to achieving certain sales levels.

Hackman also said the company had a positive informal meeting with Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency earlier in the quarter and continues to explore partnering opportunities in that region.

Executives closed the call by emphasizing that Fennec expects its current cash, cash equivalents and investment securities, together with projected PEDMARK revenue, to be sufficient to fund the business under its current operating plan.

About Adherex Technologies NASDAQ: FENC

Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops product candidates for use in the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its lead product candidate is the Sodium Thiosulfate, which has completed the Phase III clinical trial for the prevention of cisplatin induced hearing loss or ototoxicity in children. The company was formerly known as Adherex Technologies Inc and changed its name to Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc in September 2014. Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc was founded in 1996 and is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

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