Neuren shares plunge 14% on US Daybue sales
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The news: Shares in Neuren Pharmaceuticals dived more than 14% after its US partner Acadia Pharmaceuticals reported its recently launched drug Daybue reached net sales of USD87.1 million ($133.4 million) in the fourth quarter.
The numbers: Neuren shares were trading 14.1% lower at $18.45 by 1:15pm AEDT.
Victoria-based Neuren — which licensed its Rett syndrome drug to Acadia and launched in the US last year under the brand name Daybue — said that Q4 net sales of the drug in the US equalled USD87.1 million, and totalled USD177.2 million since it launched in April 2023.
The Q4 sales came in at the top end of its guidance that was between USD80 million and USD87.5 million.
Acadia also provided FY24 net sales guidance of between USD370 million and USD420 million. Anticipated royalties to Neuren are $12.8 million for Q4 FY23, up from $10.4 million in Q3. Assuming an exchange rate of 0.65 and that Acadia's full-year guidance is met, Neuren's royalties for FY24 are expected to reach between $61 million and $70 million.
The context: Earlier this month, Neuren shares tanked more than 13% after US activist short-seller Culper Research published a report that said Acadia misrepresented the safety profile of Daybue.
Culper alleged that Acadia "misrepresented Daybue's safety profile, and in turn, patent retention rates". After pausing trading, Neuren rebutted Culper's claims, stating: "there are numerous analyst research reports published on Acadia and on Neuren, many incorporating surveys of US physicians, that present a different view to Culper".
The source: ASX announcement
