BioMarin is projecting sales of Voxzogo to fall between $900 million and $935 million this year. It also has a potential replacement for the achondroplasia treatment in its pipeline which could hit the market by 2030, the company says.
Competition is coming for BioMarin’s potential blockbuster Voxzogo, but the California biotech may be able to answer with a longer-acting version of the C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), which treats a form of dwarfism in children called achondroplasia.BioMarin revealed topline results for the early-stage candidate, BMN 333, that suggest it is a “potentially superior version of Voxzogo,” according to a research note from Evercore ISI analyst Cory Kasimov.In a phase 1 study of healthy adult volunteers, BMN 333 demonstrated area-under-the-curve (AUC) levels greater than three times those observed in other long-acting CNP studies, with no safety signals found, BioMarin said in an August 4 press release. AUC is a pharmacokinetic measure indicating the total exposure to a drug over time, the company added.With the result, BioMarin said that it plans to begin the dose-finding arm of its phase 2/3 registration-enabling program in the first half of next year, with the potential for a 2030 launch if the results are positive.Since close of the market on Friday, BioMarin's share price has increased by 12%.While BioMarin said that its goal with BMN 333 is to demonstrate its superiority to Voxzogo, which was approved in 2021, R&D chief Greg Friberg was quick to point out during the company’s second-quarter conference call on Monday that the result was “three times greater than the AUC levels reported for another long-acting CNP.”Friberg’s reference was to Ascendis’ TransCon CNP, which has demonstrated comparable results to Voxzogo in a phase 3 trial of achondroplasia patients and is scheduled for an FDA approval decision by November 30.One potential advantage of the Ascendis treatment, which is also known as navepegritide, is that it is injected weekly as opposed to daily for Voxzogo.As for BMN 333, the drug's profile so far demonstrates "a potential best-in-class molecule with the opportunity to drive even greater improvements in growth parameters versus available therapies, and by extension, to further improve measures of health and wellness in children with achondroplasia,” Friberg added on Monday. Another achondroplasia candidate to consider is Kyowa Kirin and BridgeBio’s daily oral FGFR3 inhibitor infigratinib. BridgeBio is conducting a phase 3 study in achondroplasia patients and is testing the treatment in hypochondroplasia, which is a form of short-limbed dwarfism.As for Voxzogo, which is the lone medicine on the market for achondroplasia, second-quarter sales came in at $221 million, a 20% increase year over year, bringing its first-half tally to $404 million. The company is projecting 2025 Voxzogo sales at a range of $900 million to $935 million, which would account for nearly 30% of its revenue.