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Date

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET

Call participants

  • Chief Executive Officer — Jayson Rieger
  • Chief Commercial Officer — Chris Chapman
  • Chief Medical Officer — Noah Rosenberg
  • Interim Chief Financial Officer — John Kirby
  • Chief Operating Officer — David Zawitz

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Takeaways

  • Total Revenue -- $5 million, including $4.3 million from U.S. YCANTH and $0.7 million from license and collaboration revenue.
  • U.S. YCANTH Product Revenue Growth -- 25.4% increase year over year.
  • YCANTH Dispensed Applicator Units -- 15,302 units, a 51.3% increase year over year and a 12.1% rise sequentially from Q4 2025.
  • Sequential U.S. YCANTH Revenue Growth -- 15.3% increase over Q4 2025.
  • Gross Product Margin -- 87.3%, down slightly from 87.6% in the prior year period.
  • Cost of Product Revenue -- $0.5 million, up from $0.4 million in the prior year period.
  • Research and Development Expenses -- $3.9 million (excluding stock-based compensation), a $1.5 million increase year over year, attributed to higher spend on the common warts program.
  • Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses -- $10 million (excluding stock-based compensation), up $1.3 million year over year, primarily from sales force expansion.
  • GAAP Net Loss -- $9.7 million or $0.45 per share, unchanged in dollar terms but improved on a per-share basis from $1.03 the prior year.
  • Non-GAAP Net Loss -- $8.8 million or $0.41 per share, compared to $8.3 million or $0.88 per share in the prior year.
  • Cash Balance -- $20.6 million as of March 31, 2026, with management indicating funding into the first quarter of 2027.
  • YCANTH Rx Launch -- The non-dispensing pharmacy platform, rolled out in Q4 2025, is described by David Zawitz as "proving to be a useful option for prescribers."
  • Record Applicator Dispensing -- CEO Rieger said, "which saw the best monthly dispensed applicator unit total since the launch of YCANTH."
  • International Expansion -- YCANTH was launched in Japan by Torii Pharmaceutical in February, generating commercial supply revenues and offsetting Verrica's share of common warts clinical trial costs.
  • EU Regulatory Progress -- Management confirmed positive feedback from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, enabling preparation for marketing authorization submission without further Phase III trials required in the EU.
  • YCANTH Common Warts Program -- Over 50% enrollment in the first Phase III trial (COVE-2); second Phase III trial (COVE-3) targeted to initiate by mid-2026.
  • VP-315 Phase II Data -- Phase II for basal cell carcinoma achieved a 97% objective response rate and an 86% mean reduction in tumor size; more than half of lesions showed complete histological resolution.
  • Pipeline Cost Sharing -- YCANTH common warts program expenses split 50-50 with Torii, with Torii funding the first $40 million (about 90% of current budget); Verrica's repayment through offsets to Japan-related revenues.
  • Sales Force Expansion -- The company plans to staff approximately 50 representatives, currently reaching about 85% of target addressable market (TAM), per Chris Chapman.
  • Prescriber Base Trends -- Dermatologists remain early adopters of YCANTH, with growth now accelerating among pediatricians and physician extenders.
  • Cumulative Applicator Milestone -- Over 100,000 applicators dispensed since YCANTH launch, per CEO Rieger.

Summary

Verrica Pharmaceuticals (VRCA 5.70%) delivered double-digit year over year and sequential commercial growth for YCANTH, with expanding U.S. demand and new records in monthly dispensed units. The commercial launch of YCANTH in Japan generated additional revenue and began reducing net pipeline costs through the Torii partnership. Regulatory progress in Europe advanced with confirmation that no additional Phase III trials are needed for marketing authorization. VP-315 continued to display promising clinical results in basal cell carcinoma, with strong stakeholder interest and advanced Phase III preparations. Verrica expects its March 31, 2026 cash balance to support operations into early 2027.

  • Management indicated ongoing "optimization" of the sales force to improve reach and frequency within the current 85% TAM coverage, with the goal of further expansion.
  • Preliminary April data showed another sequential increase in dispensed applicator units following a record March performance for YCANTH.
  • Market research suggests high patient and clinician interest in VP-315 as a non-surgical or neoadjuvant option for low-risk and potentially complex basal cell carcinoma cases.
  • The EU opportunity may be significant as management is evaluating commercial partnerships and confirmed steps are underway for pediatric waivers and country-specific strategies.

Industry glossary

  • YCANTH: Brand name for Verrica's cantharidin-based therapy, FDA approved for molluscum contagiosum and in development for other dermatological indications.
  • VP-315: Verrica Pharmaceuticals' investigational therapy for basal cell carcinoma, currently advancing to Phase III trials.
  • Abscopal Effect: A phenomenon where treatment of a tumor leads to regression of untreated lesions elsewhere in the body, being explored in the VP-315 program.
  • Dispensed Applicator Unit: Single-use dosing device for YCANTH, the key commercial metric tracked for demand.
  • Phase III: Late-stage clinical trial designed to confirm efficacy and safety in a large patient population for regulatory approval.
  • TAM (Total Addressable Market): The full revenue opportunity available if a product achieves complete market adoption in its segment.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Jayson Rieger: Thank you, Kevin. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us on our first quarter 2026 corporate update call. I am pleased to report that in the first quarter, we saw accelerating growth in market demand for YCANTH, setting new records for dispensed applicator units during the quarter and in the month of March. This growth continued after the end of the quarter as we observed further increased demand in April. YCANTH also achieved another significant milestone in February as our partner, Torii Pharmaceutical, launched YCANTH in Japan for patients with molluscum following their regulatory approval last year.

Our hope is that Japan is only the beginning of our global expansion efforts for YCANTH as we are actively working to expand the availability of YCANTH into new markets around the world. While we grow the YCANTH business, we're also advancing our product portfolio. As you may recall, in January we announced that the first patient had been dosed in our global Phase III program for the treatment of common warts, which represents a critical milestone in our strategy to expand into new indications.

I'm proud to announce that we have achieved more than 50% of the currently targeted enrollment in the first Phase III trial, also known as COVE-2, and have begun enrolling patients in the long-term follow-up study, COVE-4 in this program. Our target is to initiate the second Phase III trial known as COVE-3 in this program by mid-2026. We also continue to advance our Phase III-ready asset, VP-315, for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma as we've begun efforts to secure clinical supplies and select a CRO to support initiation of the Phase III program. VP-315 is garnering increasing attention within the dermatology community based on compelling proof-of-concept data from our Phase II program.

I'll now provide a detailed update on our YCANTH commercial business. In the first quarter of 2026, we reported total revenue of $5 million, including U.S. YCANTH product revenue of $4.3 million, which was up 25.4% over the first quarter of 2025. First quarter U.S. YCANTH dispensed applicator units increased to 15,302, growing 51.3% over the first quarter of 2025. On a sequential basis, U.S. YCANTH revenue and dispensed applicator units increased 15.3% and 12.1%, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.

As noted in our last call in March, while demand for YCANTH in January was likely impacted by severe winter weather across the East Coast, demand accelerated sharply in February and continued into March, which saw the best monthly dispensed applicator unit total since the launch of YCANTH. As we have now seen preliminary results for April, I am pleased to note that April dispensed applicator units also increased from March's then record level, and our team worked diligently every day to help more healthcare providers treat molluscum with what we believe to be is the best treatment available, YCANTH.

As we've noted in prior quarters, as we continue to prioritize the ease of access for healthcare providers and their patients, we continue to make substantial investments in our co-pay assistance program, which is impacted during the first few months of each year by the annual reset of insurance plan deductibles in January. To ensure the broadest access to YCANTH for healthcare providers, we launched YCANTH Rx, our non-dispensing pharmacy in the fourth quarter of 2025. YCANTH Rx simplifies the process for both the healthcare provider and patient by performing an initial benefit investigation and then triaging to an in-network dispensing pharmacy based upon the patient's unique healthcare coverage.

Although YCANTH Rx is still in the early stage of rollout is being well received and in our view, will help further drive demand and coverage for YCANTH. We would again like to congratulate Torii Pharmaceutical, now a subsidiary of Shionogi, on their February commercial launch of YCANTH in Japan for patients with molluscum. This milestone reflects the culmination of significant efforts by many team members from both companies. The launch of YCANTH in Japan means that the commercial supply we provide to Torii has begun to offset Verrica's portion of the clinical costs of the common work program.

As we announced in February, we also brought on board Chris Chapman as our new Chief Commercial Officer in the first quarter. Chris and his team are already doing an outstanding job in optimizing our resources to maximize the productivity of the YCANTH commercial efforts. Finally, as noted on our fourth quarter call, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency provided positive feedback that supports the filing of a marketing authorization application for YCANTH as a treatment for molluscum. With no further Phase III clinical trials required for product approval, we are actively progressing through the next steps for submission in the EU.

The EU represents a substantial market opportunity for YCANTH, and we look forward to evaluating potential commercialization partnerships in this large and underserved region. With respect to our pipeline, the common warts and basal cell carcinoma clinical programs continue to move ahead, representing what we believe can be multibillion-dollar opportunities. As I mentioned, in December of 2025, we dosed the first patient in the first Phase III trial, COVE-2, evaluating YCANTH for common warts, which continues to enroll patients. The second Phase III trial in the common wart program, COVE-3, with sites in both the United States and Japan is targeted to be initiated by mid-2026.

If the Phase III program is successful, YCANTH could become the first therapy ever approved in the United States and Japan to treat common warts, a condition that impacts over 22 million people in the U.S. alone. As a reminder, Verrica and Torii will split the cost of the program 50-50 with Torii funding the first $40 million of trial costs, representing approximately 90% of the current trial budget. We expect to repay our portion by offsetting future transfer payments, milestones and royalties relating to YCANTH sales in Japan.

As a reminder, all of the efforts we are undertaking for the commercialization of YCANTH for molluscum lay the foundation for ultimate commercialization for the common warts indication, if approved, and there will be significant overlap in the clinicians treating both molluscum and common warts with the ability to access the same applicator through the same distribution channels. With respect to VP-315 for basal cell carcinoma, our program continues to drive strong interest with clinicians and patients alike as potential alternative approach to the existing surgical and non-surgical options.

In our Phase II study, treatment with VP-315 demonstrated a 97% objective response rate and an 86% reduction in overall tumor size with more than half of the treated lesions achieving complete histological resolution. We continue to share additional data from the ongoing analysis of the results from the Phase II at scientific conferences. As reported last week, we will formally be presenting at the 2026 Society for Investigative Dermatology, or SID, at their annual meeting in Chicago later this week, and we'll be sharing additional data regarding the abscopal-like observations from the Phase II study.

With a strong scientific foundation from our Phase II results and regulatory engagement, we have also recently completed several market research activities to better understand how VP-315 would be received by various stakeholders. This work supports broad potential utilization and acceptance across general dermatologists, medical oncologists and most surgeons as well as office managers and payers. We also conducted market research to evaluate the patient perspective, which indicated that a substantial majority of patients would elect to try VP-315 before other existing therapeutic options, regardless of whether they had previously been treated for skin cancer.

While the best outcome for patients is to completely eliminate the tumor, which we have observed in many patients in our Phase II study, overall tumor size was reduced on an average of by 86%, which we view as clinically meaningful. This highlights the potential for VP-315 to improve the patient experience by reducing the size and potential complexity of future procedures even where surgical excision is ultimately required. In totality, this market research reinforces our conviction and enthusiasm for the potential of VP-315 to change the paradigm for treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

We continue to actively assess a variety of funding opportunities for this program and have initiated clinical and CMC activities to proactively prepare for the commencement of the Phase III program. As previously noted, Verrica has retained 100% global commercial rights to YCANTH for all approved and potential indications outside of Japan as well as full global rights to VP-315 for non-metastatic skin cancers, including basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. These programs represent a robust opportunity for potential partnership to create shareholder value and optimize global access to patients that can benefit most from these medicines. I'll now turn over the call to our Interim Chief Financial Officer, John Kirby, to review our first quarter 2026 financials.

John Kirby: Thanks, Jayson. I'll now take a few minutes to summarize our financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Total revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was $5 million, consisting of $4.3 million of U.S. net YCANTH revenue and $0.7 million of license and collaboration revenue associated with our Torii partnership compared to $3.4 million of U.S. net YCANTH revenue and $17,000 of license and collaboration revenue in the first quarter of 2025. Net YCANTH revenue in the first quarter of 2026 reflects shipments to our distribution partners, offset by standard gross to net adjustments, including actual or anticipated product returns, off-invoice discounts, distribution fees, rebates and co-pay assistance program expenses.

Gross product margins for the first quarter of 2026 were 87.3% compared to gross product margins of 87.6% for the prior year period. Cost of product revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was $0.5 million versus $0.4 million for the prior year period, consisting primarily of product costs related to the sale of YCANTH. Research and development expenses of $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2026 increased by $1.5 million when excluding the impact of stock-based compensation compared to $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2025 due to increased spend on the common warts program.

Selling, general and administrative expenses of $10 million in the first quarter of 2026 increased by $1.3 million when excluding the impact of stock-based compensation compared to the expense of $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, driven primarily by increased commercial spend related to the expansion of our sales force. GAAP net loss was $9.7 million or $0.45 per share for the first quarter of 2026 compared to a GAAP net loss of $9.7 million or $1.03 per share for the first quarter of 2025.

On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes stock-based compensation, non-cash interest expense and change in fair value of embedded derivatives, the first quarter of 2026 net loss was $8.8 million or $0.41 per share compared to a net loss of $8.3 million or $0.88 per share for the first quarter of 2025. And finally, as of March 31, 2026, Verrica had aggregate cash of $20.6 million, which is expected to fund operations into the first quarter of 2027. I'll now turn the call back over to Jayson for closing remarks.

Jayson Rieger: Thanks, John. We are steadfastly advancing our efforts to establish YCANTH as the new standard of care for molluscum and are seeing traction with our strongest quarter in dispensed applicator units since launch. We are also positioning our company to fully capture the significant opportunities which lie ahead for our advanced stage pipeline if these programs successfully complete their development and are approved. Based on our Phase II data, the feedback from the dermatology community and alignment with the FDA on the Phase III program design, we believe VP-315 truly has the potential to fundamentally change the treatment paradigm of basal cell carcinoma.

In addition, the opportunity to expand YCANT's label into common warts would open a new addressable patient population for which there are currently remains no FDA-approved therapies. We believe each of these 2 opportunities represent significant potential upside for our company and for our shareholders, and we are excited about the future for Verrica and the potential impacts for patients. With that, we'd be happy to answer your questions. Operator?

Operator: [Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Stacy Ku with TD Cowen.

Stacy Ku: Congratulations on the enrollment progress for your common warts program and also on the quarter for YCANTH. First, consensus for the year seems to be around kind of the mid-$20 million kind of range. To the extent that you can comment, what are your views given what seems to be very encouraging growing demand in April? That's the first question. And then second, I know this can be a little location specific, but are you expecting to see seasonality with molluscum this year? And what are you doing to ensure you can capture any type of increased rates in the summertime?

Would you also assume the YCANTH prescription hub services to start driving adoption and improving fulfillment around that time frame? That's the second question. The third is to get an update on the progress of expanding the sales force in regions that you're seeing good YCANTH adoption. So just help us understand what you're seeing in terms of the additional stepwise expansion and if we should expect any additional updates with the sales force. Just help us understand the progress when it comes to YCANTH adoption and also maybe potentially YCANTH access.

And then last, as you think about VP-315, just maybe help us understand, as you think about Phase III, where you expect the product to be positioned in the BCC treatment paradigm? What type of patient profile for BCC would opt for a product like this?

Jayson Rieger: Thank you, Stacy. I appreciate it. I think I made good notes on all of your questions. I'll do my best, but I'm sure you'll correct me if I miss any. Starting with the consensus, we're very excited about the progress we're making. We saw a good ending to the Q1, solid performance so far in April, and we're excited about the prospects of the year. It's premature to give guidance at this point. So we're going to leave that number alone. But what we're seeing right now gives us confidence on the growth that we're seeing and the performance over the course of the year.

But with regards to seasonality, depending on where you look and who you ask, there's all kinds of comments on when the seasonality would be. But overall, I think there's general consensus to see growth as you enter the spring and summertime. And I think that's where we are right now and that could be contributing to some of the growth we're seeing, but a lot of it also comes down to the execution on the commercial side and the general adoption of YCANTH that we're starting to see. And I'll let Chris comment a little more on your questions regarding the sales force and the sales focus in a moment.

But one of those tools that's certainly going to help, and we're starting to see some adoption, is the YCANTH Rx and our hub to help support the routing of scripts and importantly, fulfillment of scripts facilitating it for the clinicians and the patients to make that access as easy as possible. I'll let Chris comment a few minutes on your question on the commercial side and then I'll round out the YCANTH on 315.

Chris Chapman: Thank you, Stacy, for the question. And as Jayson mentioned in the opening, I joined in March and I've been very pleased with what I found in the organization. But there are areas for optimization. Now you mentioned the field force. Currently, we are deployed and our territories do capture about 85% of the TAM. However, there are areas that we can optimize reach and frequency. And we are going through a kind of stem to stern reach and frequency exercise. We will be staffing to about approximately 50 representatives. There are numerous markets that could use additional manpower.

And I think you're seeing in the momentum that we're building, slight tweaks to our deployment and our execution are yielding some momentum. And I remain cautiously optimistic on that. But again, we're totally re-evaluating our current targeting to optimize that reach and frequency, which again gives us the opportunity to optimize the 85% that we're already deployed against.

Jayson Rieger: Thanks, Chris. And I'll let Noah comment a little bit on your question on VP-315.

Noah Rosenberg: In terms of our Phase III program, our initial approach is to target patients with low-risk BCC, i.e., nodule and superficial and to target a similar population to what we saw in Phase II. Those would be primary tumors. I think broadly beyond Phase III, I think it's important to also recognize that we see this as potentially long-term a neoadjuvant approach for complex and difficult-to-treat tumors and very excited about the abscopal data, which has some implication potentially for patients who often present with multiple lesions at initial presentation.

Jayson Rieger: Thanks, Noah. Thanks, Chris. To round that out, one of the feedback that we've generally seen from patients we've asked about their perspective on this treatment is those who are naive to ever having had treatment with basal cell or those who have had multiple basal cell experiences before seem to be very receptive towards the potential of VP-315 as a method to -- as their first line of therapy to try and see if they can reduce the size or perhaps completely eliminate the lesion.

And that bodes well both for them as well as if proceeds down to lows or other procedures where that lesion is smaller and that surgical procedure would be simpler in terms of complication, potential scarring, side effects, et cetera.

Operator: We will move next with Dennis Ding with Jefferies.

Georgia Bank: This is Georgia Bank on the line for Dennis Ding. Congratulations on the quarter. I guess another question on the 315 program and on the SID data. I guess, showing reductions in untreated lesions consistent with the potential abscopal effect, how are you thinking about validating that signal going forward? And how should we think about the opportunity of that market where patients might have multiple lesions versus just a single? And what would that look like? And then a follow-up on the YCANTH Rx pharmacy model and how it's performing today? And what proportion of scripts are routed through that pharmacy?

And what are you seeing in terms of differences in prescription to treatment conversions or reimbursement success rates and so on?

Noah Rosenberg: So it's Noah here. I think in terms of the abscopal effect and the overall implications to the patient population, I think many patients present initially with multiple lesions. Often patients, especially those who've already had procedures, want a surgical alternative. So again, we see this as complementary to surgery. But in some cases, patients may not want that surgery. And in some cases, they've got more than one lesion. So we believe that this data, while early and exploratory, is extremely encouraging.

In terms of validating that data, we will -- we plan, as we've mentioned, 2 larger studies, 100 patients each in Phase III, and we'll be able to explore and look at larger populations and look at that abscopal effect. I think it's important to note that regardless of whether the patients were contralateral or they were nearby in terms of the lesions, we still saw effects broadly. And I think that was extremely encouraging, and we're very excited to embark on that data.

David Zawitz: This is David Zawitz speaking on YCANTH Rx. The YCANTH Rx performance has been good in the early few months since we launched it. It's an option that we provide to the prescribers who are looking to write the product. It's not mandatory. They can choose to write it if they are looking for the additional help with benefits investigations and with potentially processing prior auths if they're required. And so far, we've been improving the program throughout the quarter since the launch, and it's been going well.

And we're not going to comment right now on sort of percentage of our total business that's running through that, but the adoption is growing, and it's going to be -- it is proving to be a useful option for prescribers who are looking to use it.

Operator: We will move next with Serge Belanger with Needham & Company.

Serge Belanger: First one, I guess, just on the 1Q performance. Just trying to understand the variability from quarter-to-quarter in your gross to nets to reconcile the difference between the applicator unit growth and sales number. And then secondly, can you maybe just talk about the competitor molluscum product that's currently in the market, whether it's been a headwind for YCANTH or maybe it's -- there's been a tailwind due to the additional voice in the market promoting molluscum?

Chris Chapman: Serge, thanks for the question. It's Chris Chapman. And I think the variation certainly that you see between Q4 and Q1, Q4 historically is the most valuable month for manufacturers. Most of the patients have cleared their deductibles and people are refilling their prescriptions. Q1, you do have the deductible reset. So I think we saw a little bit of that. But as I mentioned in my prior comments, I'm really encouraged at the momentum that we saw coming out of Q1 into the first month of Q2. And there are a couple of reasons, and they all relate to the questions that have been asked here.

One is YCANTH Rx, which provides a useful option for those physicians who need some additional support. The other, as you mentioned, is having additional share of voice having a second competitor in the market driving recognition and choosing to treat molluscum is a huge opportunity that we certainly are taking advantage of. The third, as I mentioned, being new to Verrica is the opportunity to do some basic optimization on reach and frequency on your targets. And so I think those 3 areas. But again, I would anticipate you're continuing going to see a synergistic effect of share of voice in the marketplace as well as those additional commercial levers that we're pulling.

Expect to see more guidance as we get into Q3 and Q4. But right now, as I mentioned, cautiously optimistic but impressed with the early results that we see.

Jayson Rieger: Thanks, Chris. And as I said, to follow up, what we've seen is this is a market dominated by a watch-and-wait mentality. And now that we have a viable option for treatment, and we believe YCANTH really addresses the unmet need by 1 to 2 treatments on average for most patients to get to a resolution that they're happy with in terms of their disease, we believe that will continue adoption and convert those from watching to actually getting treated. And awareness of the disease and that there's therapies out there bodes well for our program.

Operator: We will move next with Ram Selvaraju with H.C. Wainwright.

Raghuram Selvaraju: Just with respect to Europe, could you maybe elaborate on how you anticipate reference pricing to shake out as and when the product ultimately becomes eligible for market entry? And also, if you could give us a sense of post approval, what the country-by-country cadence might be? Which countries are most likely to be first in line for YCANTH introduction?

Jayson Rieger: Thanks, Ram. I appreciate that. We're still in the early stages of our Europe planning and strategy works. We have ongoing activities with regards to understanding pricing and pricing options and what reimbursement might look like there. We've explored that in a number of countries, and we're going to share that information as it's right to do so. In terms of countries, we're planning to have broad access across the EU. Obviously, there are some strategies on which countries may come first.

In that, I would say we will probably be more consistent with traditional European rollouts, but we're going to evaluate that based on the feedback on a country-by-country basis and the addressable population as well as the pricing that may differentiate across those countries. But that work is ongoing in parallel to our work to complete the regulatory submission activities.

Raghuram Selvaraju: Can you also just briefly comment on any underlying emergent trends among both unique prescribers and repeat prescribers of YCANTH that you're seeing in the most recent data?

Chris Chapman: Yes. I can speak to that. And we're seeing what you would expect to see that the dermatologists dominate the early adoption. And you see that across classes. You also see it across competitors in this space. And as you would imagine, you're also seeing repeat prescribing in those earliest adopters. As we continue to expand that prescriber pool, you see more and more pediatricians coming in. So clearly, those are the 2 largest segments. But as you might imagine, dermatologists were the early adopters in molluscum in the selection to both diagnose and to treat and to retreat additional patients.

Operator: We will move next with Kemp Dolliver with Brookline Capital Markets.

Brian Kemp Dolliver: Great. What do you see as the gating factors behind demand now? If you look back over the history of the launch, there was reimbursement. There was compounded product in a lot of offices on the market. How do you see -- what do you see as the key things you need to overcome at this stage, assuming that those -- the first couple of things I mentioned have been resolved?

Chris Chapman: Yes. I don't know if I would call access resolved. Certainly, we've achieved a steady state in a target access. Now we have the need to pull it through into the children accounts of the PBM. So there are still geographic opportunities for us to pull it through. But I think the real gating factor is what you kind of hear a theme in my answers here. It's appropriate targeting and segmentation. Of course, we need to get that early adoption, and we need to get trial. But as you get into the pediatric segment, as Jayson mentioned, the biggest competitor is watchful waiting. And it's not that molluscum is not seen.

It's with the prior lack of approved FDA-approved medications, it wasn't treated. And so now the gating factor to us is to drive trial. YCANTH works. And when we see physicians trial it, they rewrite it. So for us, it's continuing to grow those prescribers concentrically out from the early adopters, from those deciles 10s, 9s, 8s, getting down into those lower decile physicians, which will take us in more into that pediatric segment. So that becomes the real unique opportunity here in the next 3 to 4 quarters.

Jayson Rieger: And just to add to that -- go ahead, please.

Brian Kemp Dolliver: I was just going to follow up on that last point. Have you looked at whether there's a correlation between seniority of physician and willingness to trial?

Chris Chapman: When you mean seniority, can you -- what do you mean by that?

Brian Kemp Dolliver: Age. I'm talking age.

Chris Chapman: Interesting.

Brian Kemp Dolliver: Medical tools they used to teach them not to worry about it when you look at the senior positions because there were no options, but...

Chris Chapman: Yes, not necessarily, but I will tell you this, where we do see some differential is your physician extenders, those on the front lines and the trenches, your nurse practitioners, your PAs, they are very, very open to treating. And so I guess, in a way, you might be able to extrapolate that to age. But I think that's more of a relevant dynamic are the nurse extenders or physician extenders. But yes, I really don't see it as age. But I will say dermatology as a whole is very familiar with cantharidin primary care less so. So I think the trial that we've seen early is to be expected.

The adoption that we're now seeing in dermatology is to be expected and the opportunity remains as we expand out into pediatricians.

Jayson Rieger: And Kemp, to follow up, 2 more points to address some of your comments. We've spent the last year working on distribution and access and availability of the product for clinicians who want to treat. And in this quarter, we just announced in our release, which we crossed over 100,000 applicators that have been dispensed since launch.

One of the things, as Chris refers to the early adopters versus starting to expand beyond that, you start to get a critical amount of adoption and utilization outside post clinical trials, and that gives the later adopters and those who like to watch and take their time, data to see that the safety profile is consistent with what we saw in the clinical studies. The efficacy is being consistent with what we've seen. And so both of those things really bode well for those next wave of adopters to start to come aboard.

And we've worked very hard to make it the access to be easy with our co-pay support, our medical education and just awareness of the product for treatment of molluscum.

Operator: We will move next with Dev Prasad with Lucid Capital Markets.

Dev Prasad: Congrats on the progress. I have a couple. One, following up on the last one. I'm not sure if you answered it or not. But are you seeing YCANTH growth primarily from new prescriber entering this launch curve or from higher utilization from existing high-volume account? And second is what are the next gating step for EU submission and potential launch?

Chris Chapman: Thanks for the question. And we're really seeing both. Those prescribers who trialed early are continuing to prescribe, but we are seeing a much quicker acceleration as we get into that early majority segment of the physician cohort. So I think we're going to continue. We have to drive both. Of course, when you do have a competitor come out, those earliest adopters are going to trial that brand, which is a good thing. But we are seeing continued growth in both segments, and we'll continue to focus on the highest deciles, 10 through 8, to make sure that we have that secure as we continue to expand into the rest of the market.

Jayson Rieger: With regards to Europe, there's obviously a number of steps that you have to go through. We have received our initial scientific advice regarding the general scope of what a submission would look like for approval. Now we need to go through the process, for example, securing pediatric investigation waivers, repertoire assignment, et cetera. And so we're going through that process now. And as indicated previously, Verrica has retained global rights to YCANTH outside the United States, except for Japan, which is controlled by Torii. But we have those rights and we'll continue to explore that for a European partner to support both the commercialization process to address some of the earlier questions as well.

Operator: And at this time, there are no further questions in queue. I will now turn the meeting back to CEO, Jayson Rieger, for closing comments.

Jayson Rieger: Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for your time and attention. I'd like to thank you for joining us this evening, and we look forward to providing more updates on our progress throughout 2026. Have a nice evening.

Operator: Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.