Theratechnologies released Q1 earnings on Thursday April 5, a month after March 6 FDA approval for Trogarzo. I thought the cc had interesting points to share.
CEO Luc Tanquay said the Trogarzo approval date coincided with Thera presenting at a major HIV conference CROI (Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections). The approval created lots of attention and they fielded questions from specialists from around the world. Thera underlined unique features of Trogarzo such as:
Being the 1st monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of HIV.
The 1st HIV treatment with a new mechanism of action in more than 10 years.
The 1st non-daily treatment for HIV.
They are happy with the indication approved by the FDA. That’s because in the Phase III trial patients were resistant to 3 classes of antiretrovirals but on the label resistance to just one is enough. This makes it easier for a physician to prescribe.
Reimbursements process going well. “Extremely rare to have medical policy developed so soon after approval”. They’ve also received prescriptions processed on an exemption basis (insurer has not yet added Trogarzo to the drugs they reimburse but approves it in the meantime for an individual patient).
They’ve received over 200 requests for enrollment forms from across the USA. These forms are used by physicians to prepare prescriptions for their patients.
Here’s a link to United Health Care’s update policy, Trogarzo April 1 approval is on page 17:
https://www.uhcprovider.com/content/dam/provider/docs/public…
For those interested in the science of the drug here’s a good video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEqS-ededRY
April 9 was the start of their sales force calling on the top 5000 HIV physicians in the States. We’ll start to get Trogarzo sales reported in the current 2nd quarter. The target patient population is 20-25,000. Over the next few quarters we’ll get a sense of how big their market really is.
John