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Horizon Pharma PLC (HZNP) Leveraging Diverse Product Portfolio to Promote Rapid Financial Growth in Biopharmaceutical Industry
Horizon Pharma PLC (NASDAQ: HZNP) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients by identifying, developing, acquiring and commercializing differentiated and accessible medicines that address unmet medical needs. The company’s portfolio includes four commercialized medications for the treatment of arthritis pain and inflammation – including DUEXIS®, PENNSAID®, RAYOS® and VIMOVO® – as well as three additional products targeting rare diseases – including ACTUMMUNE® for the treatment of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) and severe, malignant osteopetrosis (SMO), as well as BUPHENYL® and RAVICTI® for the treatment of urea cycle disorders (UCDs).
Through these products, Horizon is addressing a collection of promising indications within the biopharmaceutical industry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five adults in the United States, more than 50 million people, report having doctor-diagnosed arthritis, and this figure is expected to expand to include an estimated 67 million American adults by 2030. As the nation’s number one cause of disability, arthritis accounts for more than $156 billion in lost wages and medical expenses annually, including nearly a million hospitalizations.
In a recent news release, Horizon highlighted the market potential of its four arthritis medications when it announced that 2015 net sales for the products exceeded $500 million. This performance was a result of Horizon’s total prescription growth, which has increased by 189 percent since January 2014. The company’s four arthritis pain and inflammation products accounted for 1.5 million total prescriptions, but management is optimistic about the prospects for significant future growth. The U.S. NSAID market, in which DUEXIS, VIMOVO and PENNSAID participate, accounts for roughly 117 million prescriptions each year.
“Since our company’s inception, we have built a strong and diverse portfolio of medicines through best-in-class commercial execution and value-enhancing acquisitions that we expect will drive nearly $1 billion in net sales in 2016,” Timothy P. Walbert, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Horizon, stated in a news release. “As we look to the future, we believe our long-range plan has the potential to double net sales by 2020, led by our rapidly expanding orphan business.”
By 2020, Horizon expects its orphan business unit to represent approximately 60 percent of total company net sales. In support of this goal, Horizon is currently studying ACTIMMUNE in a phase III clinical trial for Friedreich’s ataxia, an inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system. The company is also preparing to initiate a phase I dosing trial in combination with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors for the treatment of various forms of cancer. Based on third quarter 2015 net sales, Horizon forecasts $265 million in annualized U.S. sales for ACTIMMUNE and RAVICTI in 2015.
“We expect to accelerate clinical development of ACTIMMUNE, with a specific focus on Friedreich’s ataxia and cancer,” concluded Walbert.
For prospective shareholders, Horizon’s ongoing progress toward expanding its sales in both its arthritis pain and inflammation products and its orphan disease treatments could foreshadow an opportunity for the company to achieve considerable financial growth in the months to come. Look for Horizon to close in on its 2020 growth goals as it progresses with the clinical development of ACTIMMUNE moving forward.
For more information, visit www.horizonpharma.com
