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.
Yesterday, Zafgen hosted its Q4 ’18 earnings call and discussed its pathway to have FDA remove the clinical hold on ZGN-1061, its novel MetAP2 inhibitor for the treatment of T2DM. Additionally, Zafgen disclosed it has discontinued development of ZGN-1258 for the development of Prader-Willi Syndrome due to unforeseen findings in rat toxicity studies. Below are highlights and insights from the call.
In AstraZeneca’s press release regarding presentations at ACC 2019, Joris Silon was listed as the company’s new SVP of the CV, renal, and metabolism (CVRM) group. Recall, in October 2018, Novo announced that Ludovic Helfgott, previous head of AZ’s CVRM business, would be joining Novo as of April 3, 2019. According to Silon’s LinkedIn profile, he took the new position as of December 2018. Below, FENIX provides thoughts on Silon’s appointment to head AZ’s CVRM group as well as the headwinds and tailwinds that he faces.
AnTolRx, a privately held biotech company, announced Pfizer has exercised its option to license AnTolRx’s antigen-specific immunotherapy for T1DM. According to the press release, AnTolRx will receive an up-front payment and is eligible for milestone and royalty payments. The specific financial terms were not disclosed. Below, FENIX provides thoughts on the AnTolRx opportunity in the context of other T1DM immunotherapies in development.
Glooko announced it is removing the subscription fee for its data management platform. Previously, users who did not have coverage through their insurance or employers were required to pay a fee to access the platform. Additionally, the Glooko/Senseonics data integration appears to be complete. Now, users can directly sync Eversense data to the Glooko platform via the Senseonics Cloud. Below, FENIX provides thoughts on Glooko’s new business model as well as insight into how the integration with Eversense likely benefits Senseonics more than Glooko.
As of February 2019, Janssen’s VP and Franchise Medical Leader for the metabolism business, Gary Meininger (pictured below), has left Janssen and is now the SVP and Head of Pipeline Development for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Prior to his ~9 years at Janssen, Meininger spent 8 years at Merck as a director of Merck Research Laboratories. Below, FENIX provides brief thoughts on Meininger’s departure.
Today, the Senate Finance Committee held the second drug pricing hearing of 2019 (Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part II). Part I was held on January 29, 2019. While the Part I drug pricing hearing spent much time discussing insulin pricing, diabetes-specifically was hardly mentioned. When a specific drug was mentioned, it was most often AbbVie’s Humira. Below, FENIX provides diabetes-related highlights and insights from the hearing.
AstraZeneca’s Farxiga franchise labels (Farxiga and Xigduo) have been updated to reduce the eGFR cutoff from 60 to 45 mL/min/1.73m2. Additionally, AZ announced positive topline results from the Brilinta Ph3 THEMIS study in patients with established CAD and T2DM. Below, FENIX provides insight into the lower Farxiga eGFR as well as thoughts on AZ’s strengthening CV protection market position.
Hygieia recently announced it received 510(k) clearance for a mobile app that is part of the company’s d-Nav insulin guidance service. Recall, d-Nav is a T2DM-focused, cloud platform that provides personalized insulin dose recommendations based on the user’s BGM values. Additionally, results were published in The Lancet for a study showing d-Nav plus HCP support led to superior glycemic control than with HCP support alone. Below, FENIX provides thoughts on how Hygieia’s d-Nav and other similar systems could impact the diabetes market.
Novo Nordisk hosted its post-Q4 ’18 earnings event in London. The session included a brief presentation from management followed by Q&A which primarily focused on Novo’s priority review voucher (PRV) for oral semaglutide. Below, FENIX provides highlights and analysis from the call, as well as the scenario that Lilly could use its PRV for REWIND to keep pace with Novo.