What happened
In response to the company reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, shares of Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX 2.09%), a commercial stage biotech focused on neurological and endocrine disorders, rose 17% as of 11:45 a.m. EDT Thursday.
So what
Here's a review of the key takeaways from the company's third quarter:
- Total revenue was $60.8 million. That flew past the $25.2 million in revenue that Wall Street had projected.
- Sales of Ingrezza -- the company's recently launched treatment for tardive dyskinesia (TD) -- were $45.8 million.
- The company pulled in a $15 million milestone payment from Mitsubishi Tanabe in response to the kickoff of a phase 2b study in Asia.
- The FDA approved the company's follow-on submission for an 80 mg capsule of Ingrezza on October 4.
- Neurocrine's partner AbbVie (ABBV 1.97%) announced that Elagolix was granted priority review by the FDA as a hopeful treatment for endometriosis. A go/no-go decision is expected in the second quarter of 2018.
- Net loss was $11.1 million, or $0.13 per share. That was much better than the $0.49 loss that analysts were expecting.
- Cash balance at quarter end was $773 million.
Commenting on the quarter, CEO Kevin Gorman stated:
We are very pleased with the positive impact Ingrezza is having on patients suffering from tardive dyskinesia and the strength of our initial product launch. Prescriber use of Ingrezza for treating tardive dyskinesia is continuing to rapidly expand across both psychiatrists and neurologists as disease state and brand awareness broadens.
In total, just about everything is going well for the company. Given the expectation-smashing results, it is easy to understand why shares are soaring.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Ingrezza's blowout results are especially encouraging since Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA 0.56%) just received a label expansion claim for its drug Austedo to treat tardive dyskinesia on August 31. This suggests that the competition isn't slowing down the Ingrezza launch at all.
When asked about the competition on the company's call with investors, CEO Gorman stated the company's focus remains on educating the marketplace about TD and how Ingrezza can help. This strategy has worked well thus far, but management did say that it will continue to monitor the competitive landscape closely.
In total, Neurocrine is off to a great start with the Ingrezza launch, offers investors upside potential if Elagolix wins approval, and has a balance sheet that is packed with cash. These factors make this Fool believe that Neucroine's bullish move will continue for the foreseeable future.
