What happened
Shares of ChemoCentryx (CCXI) soared 96% on Friday after the biopharmaceutical company received Food and Drug Administration approval for its treatment for a rare autoimmune disease.
So what
ChemoCentryx's orally administered drug, avacopan, will be sold under the brand name Tavneos. It's designed to help treat ANCA-associated vasculitis, a condition in which an overreaction in the immune system leads to inflammation and destruction of small blood vessels that can result in fatal organ failure.
"Today is a momentous day in the history of ChemoCentryx; the culmination of decades of effort aimed at offering new hope to patients with this and other debilitating and deadly diseases," CEO Thomas Schall said in a press release.
ChemoCentryx's stock price nearly doubled on Friday. Image source: Getty Images.
Patients and investors alike cheered the news. "There is a significant unmet need in the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis, with current therapies often leading to serious, even fatal, side effects and a diminished quality of life," the Vasculitis Foundation's executive director, Joyce Kullman, said. "We believe new therapies like Tavneos may offer a brighter future for these patients."
Now what
ChemoCentryx owns the commercial rights to Tavneos in the U.S., where roughly 9,500 people are expected to be diagnosed with severe forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis. The drug will sell for a wholesale price of as much as $200,000 annually.
Analysts, in turn, estimate that ChemoCentryx could generate revenue of $1.3 billion from sales of Tavneos by 2035. A windfall of that magnitude could be huge for the company, which has recorded only $21.2 million in revenue over the past year.
