Category Archives: Basal Insulin

REWIND Filed; Empa T1DM, Nasal Glucagon Delayed; Lilly Q1 ’19 Earnings Update

Lilly hosted its Q1 ’19 earnings call and provided updates to its diabetes business. Of note, Lilly disclosed that it submitted REWIND (US and EU), URLi (EU, Japan, and maybe the US), a connected prefilled pen (US), and the empa+lina+metXR triple combination (US). Furthermore, Lilly also disclosed two regulatory delays. FDA refused to accept the sNDA for Jardiance in T1DM for “technical reasons,” and the review for Lilly’s nasal glucagon rescue product was extended by 3 months after FDA requested additional data. Below, FENIX provides thoughts and context to the significant Q1 ’19 regulatory events in diabetes.

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Biocon CY Q1 ’19 (FY Q4 ’19) Earnings Update

Biocon hosted its CY Q1 ’19 (FY Q4 ’19) earnings call and briefly discussed its biosimilar insulin program including bs-glargine and bs-aspart. Below, FENIX provides highlights and insights from the call.

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New Sanofi Insulin Savings Program

Sanofi announced that it has increased the benefits to its Valyou insulin savings program to now offer up to 10 boxes of SoloStar insulin pens and/or 10 vials of 10mL insulin for $99 per month. Previously each 10 mL vial was $99 and each box of SoloStar pens was $149. According to the press release, the program covers all Sanofi insulins (Lantus, Toujeo, Admelog, and Apidra) but not Soliqua. The program will become available starting in June 2019. Below, FENIX provides brief thoughts on the program in the context of the ongoing drug pricing debate.

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PBMs Take Center Stage at Third Senate Drug Pricing Hearing

Today, the Senate Finance Committee held its third hearing on drug pricing titled “Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part III” which focused particularly on the role of PBMs. As predicted, the PBMs largely tried to deflect attention back onto pharmaceutical manufacturers. Key themes from the hearing include: 1) PBMs blame outdated MPD legislation, PBMs do not set list prices, and PBMs do not want to provide as much transparency as manufacturers do. Below, FENIX provides highlights and insights from the hearing.

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Sanofi To Layoff Diabetes Sales Reps; Details Remain Scarce

Sanofi is reportedly set to lay off an undisclosed number of diabetes US sales reps starting in June 2019. Below, FENIX provides thoughts on the new layoffs in the context of increasing US pricing pressures on Sanofi’s insulin franchise as well as the recent sotagliflozin CRL.

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New Cigna/ESI Insulin Savings Program Introduced Ahead of Congressional Hearing

Cigna and Express Scripts announced a new insulin “Patient Assurance Program” that will cap the out-of-pocket cost for a 30-day insulin supply to $25 for eligible patients on participating plans (Cigna purchased ESI in December 2018). Of note, the new savings program was announced ~1 week ahead of the third Senate Finance Committee hearing on drug pricing which is scheduled for April 9, 2019, at 10:15 AM ET. The third installment, titled “Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part III,” will focus specifically on the role of PBMs. Below, FENIX provides thoughts on the Cigna/ESI insulin savings program as an obvious strategy to redirect the focus away from themselves and back onto insulin manufacturers.

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Adocia Q4 ’18 Earnings Update; No Call Conducted

Adocia released its Q4 ’18 earnings results, but did not have an associated webcast. Below, FENIX provides highlights from the earnings press release including 2019 pipeline activities, and thoughts on how Adocia could enter the US and EU markets.

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Thoughts on Potential Livongo IPO

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Livongo is preparing for an IPO in 2019. According to the story, Livongo has already approached Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan to underwrite the IPO with a company valuation >$1B. Recall, in March 2017, Livongo raised $52.2M in a growth round, and in April 2018, it raised an additional $105M with a total of $240M in private financing (previous FENIX insight). Below, FENIX provides additional thoughts on the Livongo IPO.

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Thoughts on Biocon Form 483 Observations and Impact to Semglee US Launch

Biocon has reportedly received six Form 483 observations during FDA’s pre-approval inspection of its insulin drug substance manufacturing facility in Bengaluru (Bangalore); however, this Form 483 is not yet listed in FDA’s public database. Interestingly, the Biocon press release states the FDA inspection was “triggered by a New Drug Application submitted by our insulin API customer” which is assumed to be referencing the bs-glargine filing by Mylan. Below, FENIX provides insight on the impact to the Semglee (glargine U100) US commercial launch and thoughts on how a delayed tentative approval could potentially lead to a royalty agreement between Sanofi and Mylan.

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