Q3 2020 Acorda Therapeutics Inc Earnings Call

<unk> quarterly EPS Therapeutics third quarter, 2020 financial and business update.

Time, all participants are in a listen only mode. There will be a question and answer session to follow.

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The need for class.

I'll now introduce your host for today's call journeys that could be no executive Vice President corporate communications at Acorda. Please go ahead.

Thank you good afternoon, everyone before we begin let me remind you that our presentation will contain forward looking statements detailed disclosures can be found in our FCC filings, which are public and we encourage you to refer to those filings I'll now pass the call over to our CEO and Ron.

Right.

Thanks, Stephanie and welcome everyone.

<unk> sales increased by 24% in the third quarter over the second quarter to $5.8 million.

We're particularly encouraged by this especially given the impact of Toby gene.

Empyrean that revenue for the third quarter was 27.3 million that was a 5% increase over the second quarter.

Pure revenue continues to be consistent with our internal projections physicians and patients to maintain a high degree of brand loyalty and Acorda continues to offer co pay mitigation and the free 60 day trials that those patients who are eligible.

In addition, we received a $15 billion milestone payment from Biogen related to sales of Santa Clara outside the U.S.

As a reminder, in breach is inhaled leave Adobe.

We have a dopa is the gold standard therapy for improving symptoms of Parkinson's Ana breezes indicated to address the return of symptoms also known as off periods as needed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on our business as people with Parkinsons and other at risk populations have reduced their physician visits and delayed routine care.

We saw a recovery of new prescriptions come late April through July then we actually saw a dip in new prescriptions in the late summer followed by it resumed upward trajectory from late September to the present.

Physicians offices and patients had been adapting to the pandemic over time, although much of the country has now been experiencing a second wave of infections.

Notwithstanding these factors, we're seeing an encouraging momentum in.

Breezes trajectory and we believe that the initiatives that we've introduced during the year are having a positive impact.

Breaching that sales have increased 34% over the first quarter.

[laughter] cartons shipped increased 24% over the first quarter.

Also please the persistency remains high among patients who use a breach at least every other day on average with about 70% continuing on therapy at 12 months.

We also continued to make progress on patient access to Enbridge during the third quarter access without medical exception reached 96% of all commercially insured patients that was a 28% increase over the first quarter.

And over 2300 neurologist have prescribed and have prescribed to breach that that's a 12% increase over the first quarter.

We also launched a tele medicine program during the quarter, giving people with Parkinsons, an important new option to consult with the physician if they're uncomfortable with it in person visits and the early response to this offering has been encouraging.

Moving to our third quarter 2020 financial performance.

[noise] this slide outlines keep financials for the third quarter and year to date, which you'll find the dressed and detailed in our press release, we ended the third quarter with cash cash equivalents investments and restricted cash of 101.3 million.

No, but as we previously reported in July we received $12.7 billion tax refund under the care side, which allowed us to carry back 2019, net operating losses to prior tax years, resulting in the response.

This amount is included in our quarter end cash balance. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier in the third quarter, we achieved a milestone payment of $15 million from Biogen.

Payment was received in October therefore, it is not included in our quarter in past rally our quarter end cash balance reported today, but it is reported as milestone revenue in our Q3 financials.

So in summary, our teams have adapted to the challenges posed by Koby 19, we've been seeing significant progress for breach across multiple fronts. Our top priorities are to accelerate and breezes growth using all the strategies weve reviewed here and in previous calls.

To support him Chira as it generates valuable cash and it's still an important medication for the M.S. community and to optimize our cost structure and strengthen our balance sheet to drive long term value for shareholders. The $15 million milestone payment, we received from Biogen and that appears performance further strengthened.

Our financial position.

One of our key initiatives is to monetize the excess capacity of our Chelsea manufacturing facility, which would offset expenses and reduce our cost of goods. We believe that this in turn would help to facilitate X U.S. partnerships, where a region. We are in active discussions now.

For both the manufacturing and X U.S. partnering initiatives.

And now I'll open the line for your questions operator.

Operator.

Thank you.

Hi, there.

The question you will need to press Star then one on your telephone.

Well your question [laughter] County.

Limit yourself to one question and one follow up please standby for composites given a roster.

[noise] [noise] again, if he would like to ask a question [laughter] Dod and the number one on your telephone keypad.

Your first question comes from the line.

Phil and I do from Cowen and company. Your line is open.

For taking my question first one on coverage Ron you mentioned a commercial lives.

Covered which was an impressive increase over the quarter, where are you with Medicare lives covered and.

Do you have any sense as to how that could transition after.

January 1st when the new plants go into effect.

Yeah, well so thanks, Phil so far we still you know, we're we're maintaining a 25% of covered lives that have access without medical exception, but.

There's been a Ah I think pretty significant decrease in the numbers of Medicare lives that are blocked from access. So Ah beginning of 2020, we were at about 38% slot and we're now at about 15%. So what that means obviously is if that position is willing to.

Right the medical exception and we do encourage them and educate them about that and so on the patient can get the medications. So that has been real progress we are bidding on.

Next year or so far we're still at 25% of covered lives, but as I said, it's not.

Hi.

We have improved the situation quite significantly.

And I would say about half of the people who are getting.

In breach of our on Medicare.

Perfect and then I guess the follow up is termed.

In terms of visits to physicians offices, most of the neurology companies. We cover report that the in person visits a patience is way down some are suggesting it's about 60% of precrisis levels.

No we've seen the growth that you're seeing so I guess, how what are you seeing with the physician's office or patients.

Not going in and how are you overcoming that to grow in breach like you did in the quarter.

Let me just go back just for a second that was something else I had my back of my mind to say the other thing about the Medicare issues. We haven't got heard back on all of our our responses to the RFP is yet there was you know the request for proposals. So we expect over the next couple of months, we'll have clarity.

On what the situation looks like for 2021, and whether we'll be able to improve that 25% number. So we are not there yet we still waiting to get a lot of information Okay got it and then.

With regard to the to the ER visits the opposite side well. That's the last good information, we had which is external surveys that were done really goes back to the spring late spring early summer when there was about an 80% drop in fuzzy in certainly in neurology there was about an 80.

<unk> said drop in physician visits so that was pretty dramatic.

We don't have any solid updates on that survey.

Oh, we're basing it on what our team is doing and what we're finding is is quite variable across the country the ER across the country.

The.

There are certain places where visits have clearly increase beyond the 30 or 35%, but those numbers would acquire 20% that would imply there are other places where they did open up and then as koby took off in those regions again, they started shutting down again, so it's all over the map what I can tell you.

You know what what our team did early on was.

Talk talk talk to all of their.

Offices and.

Arranged to speak to the doctors and the staff by phone by video and in other ways support them. Most of those offices have adapted to tele medicine to a degree it's certainly not 100%, it's not replacing 100% of the visits that they lost but they had.

Come up I would say significantly since March April may for sure how.

How much they've come up I think it depends on what part of the country. We're talking about we don't have a really solid handle on those numbers. What we can say is that you know our trajectory of new prescriptions has gone up by and large with the exception of the dip I talked about in the late summer or that was August early September.

Third I'm, we're not sure whether that was quoted related or vacation related or something else, but it did then resumed in September through October and were continuing to see an upward trajectory. So.

All that tells us that the docs have adapted they are seeing a lot more patients than they did before it's almost certainly not back to normal in terms of volume, but it's enough that we're able at least within reach out to see an upward trajectory.

Perfect. That's helpful. Thank you.

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Colin I turn the call back over to you.

All right. Thank you operator, and thank you everyone that concludes our call and well look forward to updating your again next quarter.

I've a great election day bye for now.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating you may now disconnect.

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