Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUPN) Q3 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Jack Padovano: Hi. This is Jack calling in for Annabel. Thanks for taking our questions. Two from us. So, first on Qelbree, we’ve seen a pretty meaningful uptick in prescription since the adult launch. Is this early penetration, primarily from a growing desire for non-stimulant options or more due to either a rebound from the back-to-school season or a lack of availability from Adderrall, given manufacturing delays? Just wanted to know if you think this is a sustainable trend or one that you could see reversal of when stimulant supplies return? And secondly on GOCOVRI, I know you’ve mentioned previously that your intentions with the effective re-launch or to essentially rework the narrative and focus on dyskinesia first and second to better differentiate it from competitors, do you have any early indications on how receptive physicians have been to this new strategy? And if they’ve begun to more meaningfully understand the advantages of the dual profile? Thanks.

Jack Khattar: Yes. Regarding the first question on Qelbree and the uptick, in the prescriptions. Certainly, we had two dynamics on top of each other working together in growing Qelbree and accelerating its growth in third quarter. As you well pointed out, first the adult launch, which we launched at the end of May, but then as the summer season, dwindled down so to speak and back to school season start coming up, you had the back to school effect on the pediatric. As I mentioned in the remarks, as far as the adult growth was around 77% growth in the third quarter, which was fairly the first full quarter right after the launch, and we continue to see adult growing. So, that is still growing. And then at the same time, we didn’t see pediatric slowing down.

So, pediatric continues to grow in the third quarter because of the back to school season. So, we’re pretty pleased right now with both patient populations continue to show solid growth in both sides of the business. As I mentioned, 23% of our prescriptions per the weekly data that we get, which breaks it down by age is showing that about 23% is in adult. So, we have a long way to go as far as growth potential because if you remember the market is split up 67% adult and the remainder of pediatrics. So, we have a lot of potential out there that we can tap into. And what really keeps us positive about all this is certainly at the end of the day is the feedback we get from physicians about the performance of the product. So, consistent with what we’ve seen now for almost a year and a half, almost soon will be two years in the pediatric side.

We’re seeing the same thing on the adult side with positive feedback from physicians about the use of the product in the adult population. As I mentioned, the overall satisfaction is 90%, which is really high, compared to what they are used to, and these are the same physicians who typically prescribe Strattera or other non-stimulants. And on Strattera, for example, I mentioned there’s only 51% overall satisfaction. So, clearly, Qelbree is separating itself from other non-stimulants. It also continued to be used or the primary reasons and the primary type of patients that physicians are putting on Qelbree, these are patients who are coming from the stimulant segment. So, there is still a lot of dissatisfaction in the stimulant market, despite the fact that stimulants dominate the market, about 90% of the prescriptions, but there are so many patients out there that are dissatisfied and stimulants are not the right option for them.