Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) reported earnings last week, recording stable revenue from Glatopa quarter over quarter, but the focus is still on the three-times-a-week version of the drug.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q1 2016 Actuals

Q1 2015 Actuals

Growth (YOY)

Product revenue

$14.8 million

$2.7 million

591%

(Loss) from operations

($24.6 million)

($22.1 million)

N/A

(Loss) per share

($0.35)

($0.40)

N/A

Data source: Momenta Pharmaceuticals.

What happened with Momenta Pharmaceuticals this quarter?

  • Product revenue came entirely from Glatopa, Momenta's generic version of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' (TEVA 0.31%) Copaxone, which it shares with Novartis (NVS 2.89%).
  • Glatopa has captured nearly 35% of prescriptions for the once-daily version of Teva's Copaxone, up from 30% of prescriptions at the end of last year.
  • Momenta didn't record any revenue from its partnership with Novartis to sell their generic version of Sanofi's Lovenox because continued pricing pressure from competitors ate up any profits from the profit-sharing arrangement.
  • In January, Momenta announced a partnership with Mylan (MYL) to develop six biosimilars. The deal resulted in a $45 million payment from Mylan and the potential future milestone payments.
  • Momenta ended the quarter with $363 million in the bank, slightly more than the $350 million at the end of the year thanks to the upfront payment from Mylan.

What management had to say
When asked about Teva setting up long-term contracts with pharmacies to try and defend its three-times-a-week version of Copaxone, Craig Wheeler, Momenta's president and CEO, was pretty blunt:

What I have learned with Teva, is I expect everything. So look, this is a key product for them. They are going to be doing everything they can from the contracting side on this one.

CFO Rick Shea gave some more details about the milestone payments from the deal with Mylan, stating, "On a cash basis, we have projected that in 2016 we expect to receive $60 million dollars of the total $200 million in contingent milestone payments from Mylan."

Looking forward
Momenta expects the FDA to make a decision about its three-times-a-week version of Copaxone this year, although it'll only be a tentative approval until the patent lawsuit with Teva is worked out -- a hearing is scheduled for September -- or the regulatory stay expires in the first quarter of next year. At that point Novartis could make an at-risk launch if the lawsuit hasn't been worked out.

Beyond generic Copaxone, Momenta's next big knockoff will be M923, its biosimilar version of Abbott Labs' Humira. The clinical trial for M923, which is partnered with Baxalta that's in the process of being purchased by Shire, will conclude in 2017 with the potential to launch in 2018 if lawsuits are worked out by then.

The first drug from the collaboration with Mylan, M834, a biosimilar of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Orencia, will enter the clinic in the second half of this year. The companies haven't disclosed the second biosimilar from the partnership except its codename: M710.