United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Joseph Thome: Hi, there. Good morning. Thank you for taking my question and congrats on the progress. Maybe, one more on the xenotransplantation side. Maybe, where do you see the importance of using a CD40, CD154 product in xenotransplantation? I know preclinical, I think you looked at both with and without. Maybe, what will impact your decision to take a CD40-154 into the human clinical study or not? Thank you.

Martine Rothblatt: Okay, very good. Dr. Peterson, would you like to also address that question?

Leigh Peterson: Yes. Well, the main difference is that the CD40, there’s no agents that with the CD40 blockade mechanism of action approved by FDA for use in any indication actually. And so, what we chose to do is, if you look at the background and the history of the xenotransplantation at least with the preclinical models, those studies were done with the CD40 blockade. But our study that we’re doing, we actually have two arms, CD40 blockade, as well as with conventional immunosuppression in our baboon, IND-enabling studies, and we’re getting good results with both. And in fact, there was a publication that recently came out, by Izenson et al. 2024 that discusses a case, that the — a really significant case, where a baboon was transplanted with standard-of-care regimen and survived for nine and a half months, which has never — absolutely never been seen, and we have some reasons why that that happens.

So, we prefer to go into a clinical study with approved medicines to not introduce another variable into the study. And again, we’re backing it up with our preclinical studies and we’re seeing good results in the model. So, that’s where we’re going first.

Martine Rothblatt: Thank you so much, Dr. Peterson. Very comprehensive answer. Operator, you can now conclude the call.

Operator: Thank you for participating in today’s United Therapeutics Corporation earnings webcast. A rebroadcast of this webcast will be available for replay for one week by visiting the EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS section of the United Therapeutics’ Investor Relations website at ir.unither.com. The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.