What happened
Shares of TherapeuticsMD (TXMD +0.46%), a biopharmaceutical company focused on women's health products, are on the move following the company's second-quarter earnings report, which exceeded expectations. Pleasantly surprised investors have driven the stock 20.3% higher as of 3:40 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.
So what
It looks like a warning the company issued in June, following disappointing first-quarter results released in May, wasn't entirely necessary. This was thanks to a strong performance from its branded estradiol inserts, Imvexxy, for the treatment of menopause-related dyspareunia; success for the product had hardly been a foregone conclusion.
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There were around 106,000 Imvexxy prescriptions in the second quarter, which was 41% more than during the first three months of the year. It looks like the estradiol treatment's popularity is accelerating, too: In July the company recorded 45,500 prescriptions bought and paid for.
Now what
TherapeuticsMD was expecting net revenue to reach between $4.5 million and $5.5 million in the second quarter, but the company ended up recording $6.1 million. Management thinks the current market for Imvexxy exceeds $1.7 billion annually, which means there's a lot of room to grow here. Patients are getting their monthly Imvexxy prescriptions refilled at a higher rate than previously available treatment options, suggesting the brand has a good shot at generating nine-figure annual sales in just a couple of years.
The company more recently launched a hormone replacement therapy for relief from hot flashes and related vasomotor symptoms of menopause, Bijuva, which is still trying to find its feet. This branded progesterone and estradiol combination capsule launched in April, and as of July 31, only 4,700 patients had paid for 8,900 prescriptions.
Sales of Bijuva haven't totaled $1 million yet, but a handful of major insurers are expected to make reimbursement decisions later this year. If Bijuva becomes more popular than the current method, which requires carefully combining both hormones, it could become a larger growth driver for TherapeuticsMD than Imvexxy.
