GCIShield Therapeutics shares soar on revenue surge in Q2
() , a commercial stage pharmaceutical company, issued a Q2 2024 trading update highlighting a strong recovery in US sales of Accrufer, its flagship treatment for iron deficiency.
Shield reported strong quarter-on-quarter revenue growth of 69% for Accrufer, driven by a 26% uplift in prescriptions, alongside a 23% increase in the average net selling price per prescription.
Adding together Q1 and Q2 revenues, Shield's total H1 2024 Accrufer sales amount to US$11m, with total prescriptions at 65,200, representing significant increases of 250% and 160% respectively compared to H1 2023.
Anders Lundstrom, Shield's new interim CEO, commenting: "I am excited about stepping in as the interim CEO and continue to build on the strong performance we delivered in the 2nd quarter of 2024. Large states such as California, NY, and Florida continue to drive a significant portion of the increase in prescriptions, while Texas begins to rebound. Our efforts on the operational side also showed outstanding progress, with an increase in our net selling price of 23% which is a direct result of strategies and investments over the past few quarters."
View from Vox
Excellent Q2 result from Shield as US sales of its flagship Accrufer drug soared in Q2. Revenues from the iron deficiency treatment rose 69% quarter-on-quarter and 259% year-on-year. Total prescriptions were 36,400, up 26% quarter-on-quarter and 145% year-on-year. Likewise, the average net selling price increased to $171 compared to $139 in Q1 2024 and $118 in Q2 2023.
Markets welcomed the news, sending shares soaring in early trade. As of time of writing, was up 48% on today's announcement.
The strong Q2 result builds on similarly impressive growth in FY23 when Shield saw a 2.8x jump in revenues year-on-year, including a 3.1x increase in sales of Accrufer. Today's update marks the first full year of Shield's and Viatris' collaboration, which turbocharged Accrufer marketing with a significantly expanded sales force. In light of recent performance, it is clear the collaboration has been a success, putting on a firm path to short-term profitability.
In the US, Shield is also advancing a paediatric study that should open additional opportunities in patients under 18. Outside the US, has partnered with local pharmas in Canada, China, and Korea that are advancing permitting for expansion of Accrufer to those geographies (under other brand names), with several milestones expected this year.
Accrufer targets significant unmet demand for a safe and well-tolerated oral therapy for iron deficiency, including anaemia. The drug is currently the only FDA-approved oral iron to treat ID/IDA with a broad label. The high rate of adoption and positive feedback from customers speak to future upside as more HPCs and patients learn about the product.
With a comfortable cash balance of US$8.1m at period-end, is well-positioned for continued growth.
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