Last week, as posted above, Biogen announced that it had licensed ex-North American rights to Stoke's zorevunersen, a proposed treatment for the neurodevelopmental disorder, Dravet syndrome. There are already drugs approved specifically for Dravet syndrome but these only address the severe epilepsy related to the disease. The highest-selling is Epidiolex (Jazz Pharmaceuticals).
Epidiolex became the first approved drug for Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes in 2018, and its developer, GW Pharma, was subsequently acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals for up to US$7.2bn in 2021.
Epidiolex sales in 2019 were US$296m. The drug has since been approved in 35 countries. Last night, Jazz announced Epidiolex revenues of $972M in 2024 with expectations of sales of US$1bn + in 2025. The company also announced that it had recently settled with 10 companies which had filed to sell generic copies of Epidiolex, thus staving off generic competition until the “very late 2030s” or earlier under certain circumstances.
But while Jazz might have staved off generic competition, it may still face competition from novel therapeutics. Stoke’s zorevunersen could be approved in 2028 and, to date, it has shown substantial reduction in seizures beyond any benefit patients currently receive from Epidiolex or any other anti-seizure medications. Furthermore, zorevunersen has shown the potential to improve both cognition and behaviour.
This could be one of the reasons that
Jazz’s CEO immediately launched into discussion on dealmaking in his prepared remarks during last night’s Earnings Call.
“We plan to further diversify our commercial and pipeline portfolios through strategic corporate development, which remains a key focus for Jazz… As part of our ongoing search, we’re evaluating neuroscience and oncology assets while also contemplating other rare and orphan diseases.”
When an analyst later noted that Jazz has executed no major M & A since its acquisition of GW Pharma in 2021, the CFO said “I certainly would not take the lack of announcing a large deal as lack of activity or interest in doing things. We’re active and looking.”
As Biogen has already stitched up ROW rights to zorevunersen, Jazz is likely to be looking elsewhere.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals has revenues of US$4bn+, cash and investments of ~ US$3bn and a market cap of US$8.72bn.
(20min delay)