What happened
Shares of TherapeuticsMD (TXMD 1.49%) jumped 34% in August, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the drugmaker reported solid second-quarter earnings and increased its guidance for the year.
So what
Part of the August jump had to do with the disappointing first quarter that TherapeuticsMD posted. Shares were priced for more of the same.
Instead, sales of Imvexxy, the company's estradiol inserts for menopause-related dyspareunia, bounced back, with prescriptions up 41% quarter over quarter. More importantly, July was even stronger with about 45,500 prescriptions dispensed and paid for by patients, compared to approximately 106,000 prescriptions in all of the second quarter.
The launch of Bijuva, the company's estradiol and progesterone capsules, is off to a decent start, with approximately 8,900 prescriptions during its first partial quarter on the market.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
With momentum behind it, management increased 2019 revenue guidance and now expects to bring in $29.45 million to $34.20 million, up from the previous guidance range of $27.10 million to $33.10 million. The increase is nice, but keep in mind TherapeuticsMD's revenue is still pretty small compared to other biotechs that investors can choose.
The key to TherapeuticsMD hitting its numbers -- or even exceeding them -- is for the company to continue signing up additional insurers and Medicare Part D payers to cover Imvexxy and Bijuva. For example, United Healthcare signed up to cover Bijuva starting in August, and management thinks it'll get additional payers to cover Imvexxy in the third and fourth quarters.
Looking further ahead, investors should watch Annovera, a contraception product, that's due to launch in the first quarter of 2020.
