Debra Borchardt
Cannabis biotech company GW Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ: GWPH) saw its share tumble in aftermarket trading despite delivering solid earnings. The company reported third-quarter net sales of $86 million and $188 million in net sales in the first three quarters of 2019. So far over 15,000 patients have received Epidiolex prescriptions since launch. The stock was falling over 11% to roughly $118 in post-market trading.
Revenue for the quarter ending September 30, 2019, was $91.0 million versus last year’s $2.4 million for the same time period. This easily beat the estimate of $85.91 million. The net loss was $13.8 million compared to a net loss of $79.9 million for the third quarter in 2018. The company also reported the loss as $0.04 cents per share which was much improved over last year’s loss of $2.76 per share and handily beat the estimate for a loss of $0.85 cents per share.
“In this first year of launch, we are pleased to report continued Epidiolex revenue growth in the US. Receptivity to the introduction of this breakthrough treatment continues to be highly encouraging as a result of positive physician and patient experiences as well as strong payer coverage,” stated Justin Gover, GW’s Chief Executive Officer. “We see significant opportunity for the short, medium and long term and believe that all the fundamentals are in place to make Epidiolex a very successful brand. We can expect to see additional momentum from Europe as well as the launch of the Tuberous Sclerosis indication during 2020. On top of this, GW is ideally placed to consolidate its leadership in cannabinoid science through advancing several mid and late-stage pipeline programs in the months ahead.”
Cash and cash equivalents were $554.7 million compared to $591.5 million in 2018.
More Epidiolex statistics included that over 3,000 physicians have generated dispensed prescriptions since launch and there has been strong payor coverage with approximately 93 percent of all Commercial, Medicaid and Medicare lives in the US having a coverage determination, of which 65 percent are PA to indication or less restrictive.
The European Commission gave approval for Epidiolex in September 2019 and commercialization underway in France and Germany.
