By Pratik Jain
(Reuters) -SpringWorks Therapeutics’ drug for treating adult patients with a type of rare non-cancerous soft-tissue tumor will be sold in the U.S. at a list price of $29,000 for a 30-day supply, the company said on a conference call on Tuesday.
The monotherapy nirogacestat, branded as Ogsiveo, became the first approved treatment for desmoid tumors — abnormal growths that occur in connective tissues and are associated with a high rate of recurrence — following the U.S. health regulator’s nod on Monday.
Shares of the Stamford, Connecticut-based company jumped 18% after market on Monday and are up 18.7% in early trading on Tuesday.
H.C. Wainwright analyst Robert Burns expected the drug to be priced at around $18,000 per month. TD Cowen analyst Yaron Werber expected $247,000 for 12 months, which leads to the per-month price of around $20,583.
SpringWorks estimates that about 6,000 people in the U.S. are currently getting treated for desmoid tumors and more than 20,000 are not seeking treatment for any reason.
“The typical first diagnosed patient is between the ages of 25 and 44… so it’s not a U.S. Medicare population and is largely going to be driven by commercial insurance in the U.S.,” CEO Saqib Islam had told Reuters ahead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision.
“(We are) confident that payers will recognize the value that Ogsiveo brings to patients and provide coverage,” Islam had said.
SpringWorks initially developed nirogacestat to treat Alzheimer’s disease but the drug proved to be ineffective against it.
Its another therapy candidate, mirdametinib is being tested for treating a genetic disorder, which causes benign tumors to grow along the nerves, in a mid-stage trial.
The company plans to a file marketing application for mirdametinib with the FDA within the first half of 2024 and expects to have two launches, including Ogsiveo, within the next 18 months.
(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
