Orexo's (ST:ORX) capital markets day emphasised the scale of the U.S. opioid crisis. We have forecasted a 8.2% market growth PA for U.S. opioid dependency in FY19 and FY20, although external speakers at the CMD suggested this may be higher. Orexo’s marketed product Zubsolv, had sales grow 37% year over year in Q318 in SEK. Zubsolv and its other products in development form a treatment franchise in the growing markets of opioid dependency and related disorders. The recent return of EU Zubsolv rights defers the royalties, but this effect is largely absorbed by the COGS reduction.
CMD focuses on the opioid dependency market
There are multiple causes of the U.S. opioid epidemic, which resulted in nearly 49,000 deaths in 2017. These include changes to the prescribing guidelines, a focus on pain as a vital sign and promotional practices at certain pharmaceutical companies. Chronic and acute pain was previously thought to cancel out the risk of addiction, but this was long before opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia were recognised. The number of opioid-related deaths and overdoses has risen, as have efforts to reduce opioid dependency. Orexo’s marketed product, Zubsolv, has exclusivity until 2032 in the treatment of opioid dependency, while its products in development support this franchise.
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