Ardelyx Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
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Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) reported third-quarter financial results on Tuesday. The transcript from the company’s third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs. For
Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) reported third-quarter financial results on Tuesday. The transcript from the company’s third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.
This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ for a consultation.
Access the full call at https://event.summitcast.com/view/PA6ChfYmsL9XuLtbRAfFKj/guest_book?session_id=Lfp29mEEGK4QksNYbcW52e
Summary
Ardelyx reported Q3 2026 revenue of $125.5 million, a 19% increase year-over-year, driven by strong performance from IBSRELA and XPHOZAH.
IBSRELA generated $96.3 million in revenue, with year-over-year growth of 23%, fueled by increased HCP confidence and a new direct-to-consumer ad campaign.
XPHOZAH revenue reached $29.2 million, marking a 7% increase year-over-year, supported by growing demand in the CKD dialysis market.
The company is focused on reducing payer friction to improve drug access, expanding its field reimbursement team and leveraging digital tools.
Ardelyx’s financial position is strong with $285.3 million in cash, and the company is on track to achieve profitability by 2027.
The EXCEL Phase 3 trial for IBSRELA in chronic idiopathic constipation is fully enrolled, with results expected in the second half of 2027.
Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance for both IBSRELA and XPHOZAH, and operating expenses are expected to remain below $500 million.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Welcome to the Ardelyx third quarter 2026 earnings call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lisa Caperelli, SVP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Lisa, you may begin.
Lisa Caperelli (Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications)
Thank you, Paul. Good afternoon and welcome to our third quarter 2026 financial results and business update call. Earlier today we issued our earnings release, which can be found on the Investor section of our website at ardelyx.com. Slides that accompany today’s call can also be found on our website. On today’s call I am joined by Mike Raab, President and CEO of Ardelyx, and Sue Hohenleitner, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I’d like to remind you that some of the statements made during the call today are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied, including those described in our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which was filed today, and from time to time in our other documents filed with the SEC.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of today’s date and, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our views change. I will now pass the call over to Mike. Mike.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Thank you, Lisa. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Ardelyx is a company focused on developing and commercializing innovative medicines, and today with IBSRELA and XPHOZAH, we have two first-in-class medicines that in the third quarter generated over $125 million in revenue, up 19% from a year ago. With a strengthened financial position and a robust patent portfolio, our products are well positioned for significant long-term growth.
Our focus is now to leverage that foundation and to build a pipeline to create long-term value. Our third quarter performance bolsters our confidence as we focus on executing on our priorities: accelerating the growth of IBSRELA, maintaining XPHOZAH’s momentum, building and expanding our pipeline, and delivering strong financial results, starting with IBSRELA. In Q3, IBSRELA generated revenue of $96.3 million, representing 23% year-over-year growth. HCP confidence in IBSRELA remains high, with demand reaching all-time highs as the number of total writers, total prescriptions, and market share continues to grow.
This growth supports our full-year guidance and reinforces our long-term view of achieving a billion dollars in annual revenue. Critical to that is our ongoing work to thoughtfully eliminate the payer friction HCPs and patients experience when first starting IBSRELA. In our efforts to alleviate some of this friction, in the third quarter we began to see progress that gave us confidence that these initiatives are beginning to take hold. As we’ve noted in the past, IBSRELA is a promotionally sensitive brand, and mid-year we expanded our sales force to increase reach and frequency to our target HCPs and continue to build the top-of-the-funnel demand.
In addition, we doubled our field reimbursement team to help HCPs navigate the prior authorization landscape. We’re also continuing our efforts to transition writers to utilize the IBSRELA Pharmacy Network, as we know that when the IPN is utilized, patients experience two to three times higher fulfillment rates, faster fill times, and at least one additional refill per patient on an annual basis. We will continue to assess all tools at our disposal to streamline the prior authorization process, such as how best to leverage digital and AI tools.
Our teams are executing at a high level, translating into notable results with total prescriptions growing. On September 1, we embarked on a highly targeted effort to raise awareness of IBSRELA with IBS-C patients and launched our first direct-to-consumer ad. This highly targeted ad has a clear call to action and is intended to reach more than 10 million people through outlets such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and Disney. In the testing phase of the ad with IBS-C patients, 91% of them said that they would ask their doctor if IBSRELA was right for them, and in a short time we’ve seen that the campaign has delivered meaningful impressions and is driving an increase in traffic to our consumer-focused website. These are early positive indicators, and we continue to monitor how this increased awareness translates into new patient starts.
As you know, the IBS-C market is very large. Over 7 million prescriptions are written for IBS-C–approved medications per year, and more than 70% of patients continue to experience persistent symptoms, with IBSRELA being an important alternative for millions of dissatisfied IBS-C patients. In addition to providing benefits to IBS patients, our real-world data demonstrated that there is also the potential of generating significant savings in healthcare services for IBS-C patients when they are treated with IBSRELA.
A few weeks ago at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting, we presented real-world data showing that when on IBSRELA, GI-related healthcare resource utilization drops, primarily driven by fewer doctor visits and labs. Taken together, IBSRELA not only provides symptom relief for IBS-C patients, but may also reduce broader healthcare resource burden associated with the disease. The fundamentals of the IBSRELA business remain very strong, and by staying focused on execution and improving patient access, we are positioned to drive continued adoption and create meaningful benefits for patients.
Now, moving on to XPHOZAH, revenue in Q3 was $29.2 million, representing 7% year-over-year growth, and we continue to see growth in paid prescriptions of 22% compared to the same quarter in 2025. The need for XPHOZAH remains high. In the United States, there are more than 550,000 adults with CKD on dialysis, with more than 80% of them requiring hyperphosphatemia management, and yet nearly 70% of those patients struggle to reach and maintain target phosphorus levels.
A few weeks ago at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week, we presented real-world evidence supporting XPHOZAH’s ability to consistently reduce serum phosphate. We also presented data highlighting the difficulty of managing hyperphosphatemia and the serious mortality and morbidity associated with the cumulative phosphate burden. Together, these findings continue to reinforce the need for XPHOZAH, a differentiated treatment that can help dialysis patients reach and maintain target phosphorus levels.
As we’ve discussed before, the dialysis reimbursement environment is complex, and we are taking a thoughtful and measured approach to help ensure that XPHOZAH continues to be a positive contributor. Now, pivoting to our pipeline, tenapanor is our foundation and will enable us to grow our pipeline. Our most advanced program with IBSRELA is our EXCEL Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation, or CIC. Today we announced that we have fully enrolled the trial ahead of schedule. The interest and pace of enrollment in the trial underscores the enthusiasm on the part of treating physicians for a new option for their patients experiencing the significant burden of CIC.
Our confidence in the success with IBSRELA in CIC patients is in large part based on data from our IBS-C clinical development program. Patients with CIC and IBS-C have overlapping symptoms. We believe that expanding the use of IBSRELA to CIC will provide an additional option for patients currently underserved by their CIC treatments. In October, we convened a medical advisory board of HCPs to elicit their feedback on the CIC treatment landscape and our Phase 3 trial design. Three themes stood out from that discussion that I’d like to share with you. First, the need is real, as CIC patients cycle through multiple over-the-counter products seeking care and, like IBS-C patients, often arrive treatment experienced. Second, there is a solid clinical rationale. CIC and IBS-C overlap substantially, and we believe that the clinical efficacy observed with IBS-C could translate to patients with CIC.
Third, the trial has been well received, as evidenced by the faster-than-projected enrollment in the EXCEL trial. We are encouraged by the progress we’ve made and look forward to reporting top-line results in the second half of 2027. Finally, we are in a strong financial position with our $285 million of cash, with our revenue funding our operations and supporting our path to profitability in 2027. And with that, I will now turn the call over to Sue to discuss the quarter’s financials in detail. Sue.
Sue Hohenleitner (Chief Financial Officer)
Thank you, Mike. Three points stand out for me from our third quarter results. First, IBSRELA continues to drive our growth, with revenue up 23% year over year. Second, we’re turning that growth into financial progress. Our net loss narrowed to $700,000 and we ended the quarter with $285.3 million in cash. Third, based on the continued strength and performance, we’re reaffirming our full-year guidance for both products and for operating expenses.
Now let me walk you through the numbers. In the third quarter, our total product revenue was $125.5 million compared to $105.5 million in the same period last year, representing 19% growth year over year. IBSRELA Q3 revenue was $96.3 million, an increase of 23% compared to Q3 2025. IBSRELA revenue growth reflects growing demand and an increase in total writers and total prescriptions. XPHOZAH revenue for the quarter was $29.2 million, an increase of 7% compared to Q3 2025.
While the demand in Q3 sequentially grew, it was offset by customer buying patterns in the quarter. As Mike mentioned, the dialysis reimbursement environment is complex and we are doing all we can to help ensure it remains a positive contributor. Now moving on to expenses. R&D expenses for the quarter were $25.2 million compared to $18.1 million for the same period in 2025. This increase primarily reflects the ongoing investment in the EXCEL Phase 3 clinical trial in CIC. SG&A expenses for the quarter were $93.9 million compared to $83.6 million for the same period in 2025. This increase reflects the deliberate investments we made earlier in the year, including expanding the FRM team, optimizing the sales force, and launching the DTC initiative.
Our financial strategy remains focused on driving towards profitability, which we continue to believe will occur in 2027. We are diligently focused on growing revenues while managing our operating expenses. Considering our greater than 95% gross profit margin and prudently managed opex, we anticipate our operating margin to grow as we move forward. That is the leverage of this business that I hope our shareholders appreciate. Net loss for the third quarter was $700,000 compared to a net loss of a million dollars for the same period in 2025. The net loss for Q3 2026 included $15.1 million for non-cash expenses from share-based compensation compared to $12.7 million for the same period in 2025. We ended the third quarter with $285.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. Our liquidity remains robust. We are using our cash and revenue base to fund our operations and our pipeline.
Now turning to guidance. For IBSRELA, we are reaffirming our full-year 2026 guidance of $350 to $370 million. This represents annual growth of more than 30% at the midpoint. For XPHOZAH, we’re reaffirming our full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $110 to $120 million. For opex, we continue to expect our full-year 2026 operating expenses to be below $500 million. As we build toward profitability in 2027, opex and prudent expense management are key priorities for us as a company.
We’re focused on three: executing commercially, investing with discipline, and delivering value for our patients and shareholders. Our financial position and disciplined capital allocation strategy gives us the flexibility to execute these priorities and build on our, and with that I will hand it back to Mike.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Thank you, Sue. We’re a company with two first-in-class medicines, a solid financial foundation, a developing pipeline anchored by tenapanor, and a team that has demonstrated it can execute. I’m confident in the team and its ability to build on that foundation, and we look forward to sharing more about what comes next. Thank you for your continued support. And with that, Paul, we can open the call for questions.
OPERATOR
If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad now. You will be placed into the queue in the order received. Please be prepared to ask your question when prompted. Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your phone now. And our first question comes from Yigal.
Caroline
Hi, this is Caroline on for Yigal. Thanks for taking our question. You’ve highlighted the benefits of the IBSRELA Pharmacy Network in terms of fulfillment and adherence. Can you tell us what percentage of prescriptions are flowing through the network today and how much opportunity remains to further increase penetration? Thanks.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah, thanks for the question. I mean, the Ardelyx Pharmacy Network is clearly key to our strategy going forward. It’s probably premature for us to give you any specifics in terms of what is actually flowing through. It’s something that we want to do thoughtfully and carefully to not cause additional disruption. So it’s probably not time for us to give you that kind of specificity. Thanks. Sure. No, that’s an important question. We’re just coming to the end of the TDAPA period for the binders, and the turmoil that we’ve been talking about for the better part of a year and a half continues. So, you know, I think we all need to be patient until we exit this TDAPA period, see what next year looks like, and when we have confidence we’ll come back to you with those numbers.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Roanna Ruiz of Leerink Partners.
Roanna Ruiz (Analyst at Leerink Partners)
Hey, afternoon everyone. A couple for me. So first one was wondering if you could talk a bit more about the specific initiatives you’ve been doing to eliminate payer friction that came through in prior quarters, and are you able to talk about if you have any sense if this could happen again? Was it more a one-time thing, or it could be a part of new seasonality for payer dynamics?
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah, I mean I think the most important thing around is the growing demand and how strong that has been. Right. The top of the funnel is sort of our true north that we all should continue to be paying attention. We can’t assume it’s a one and done. It’s something we in this industry always have to focus on. If a physician has identified that you need a certain medicine and then you can’t get it as a patient, that’s the friction that we speak of. So we will be very thoughtful as we look at all approaches of doing this.
I mentioned whether it’s AI, other digital efforts, the discussions we’re having with payers, how we optimize that and, importantly, the FRMs that we have in the field that are working hand in glove with our ABDs in the offices to help people get familiar with the process of getting a prior authorization filled. So there isn’t one answer to this. It is going to be a panoply of many things that we have to be prepared to do. Yeah. And I would just add, you know, the physicians are very strongly convicted in prescribing IBSRELA. I really think it’s, you know, we’ve got to get them through that funnel and get more approvals through. So, you know, I think the great thing there is, Roanna, the product is amazing. We hear that all the time from patients and from physicians.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Matt Caulfield, HC Wainwright.
Dora
Hi, congrats for another great earnings. And this is Dora on Matt. Our question is, since you expanded the field reimbursement management team, how have the PA approval and fill rates through the IPN network trended? Thank you.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah, I mean I think as we spoke, you know, we definitely see high fulfillment rates through the IPN. Not going to give any specific numbers on it at this stage. But importantly, we see an additional script filled per annum at least, and it’s just easier for the physicians when they have the help and their staff helping the prior authorization be accomplished. So again, it is going to be all of these things happening at the same time, not just one magic bullet.
Sadly, we have to be prepared to deploy FRMs as we have. They’re doing phenomenal work in the field with the area business directors, and my guess is that their calendars are chock full of requests for support from the field as they continue to see other ways to help offices accomplish the goal.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Laura Chico of Wedbush Securities.
Laura Chico (Analyst at Wedbush Securities)
Hey, thanks for taking the questions. I’ve got a housekeeping one. Mike, how did inventory at wholesalers change during the third quarter? I might have missed that if you commented, sorry. And then in the past you’ve indicated when you expand the field force it takes a few quarters for that to be translating into greater sales. But I’m curious on the FRM side, by increasing that top-of-funnel layer, how should we think about the time for the reimbursement team expansion to impact fill times and shorten that?
Thanks very much.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah, I mean, I’ll have Sue address the inventory question. Let me address the FRM question first. There is plenty to do for the FRM team, and all I hear directly from the field is how grateful they are and how helpful they are in getting things accomplished. So probably no direct metrics that I can give you right now, but it is clear once the engine gets running in an office that an office gets accustomed to the process—similar to what they’re doing for other drugs that they have in their armamentarium for other diseases in the GI practice—getting the same kind of attention is what our FRMs are doing, and it becomes a little bit like a muscle that is exercised. As offices get more familiar with it, it becomes easier, and the FRMs are doing phenomenal work in accomplishing that.
Sue Hohenleitner (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah. And just to, Laura, just to address the buying dynamics, I really more comment that for XPHOZAH because what you see from script growth perspective sequentially, you see our scripts growing, but quarter over quarter, we did show a decline of about 9%, and that was really just the buying dynamics. So depending on what day of the week, you know, the second quarter versus the third-quarter end, we can have a little bit of, like, a little lower inventory, et cetera.
So I wanted to comment to that because we did see that sequential decline, you know, nothing of note. It’s really just, you know, from time to time as the distributor is a little bit more, a little bit less.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
And, Laura, I think as we said in the past, much of this inventory is almost just-in-time. There isn’t a significant amount out.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Alison Bratzel of Piper Sandler.
Peter
Hi there. This is Peter on for Ally, and thank you for taking the question. I’m just wondering how investors should frame the range of outcomes across the Phase 3 EXCEL doses, and what would you view as a clinically meaningful result? And if EXCEL is positive, which patients do you see as the most relevant candidates for IBSRELA in CIC, and how large could that opportunity be? Thank you.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Very thorough question, Peter, and some of those things we’ll get into more specifics as we talk more about CIC and the program going forward as we see the data. But a win is a successful clinical trial, right? You’re looking at the durable response, which is the endpoint for CIC patients. So it’s basically the constipation endpoint you saw in IBS-C without pain. And that’s really a differentiator between the two populations. So the durable response that you need there is three of the last four weeks of the period.
You have to have a maintained effect of the drug, and similar to what we saw with the IBSRELA trial in IBS-C. I think, as we’ve spoken before, the EPI of the constipation market is significantly greater than IBS-C. Now the vast majority of those patients are treated sufficiently with over-the-counter medications. And I think, as you heard in my opening statements, what we do see is the journey that CIC patients who aren’t responding to OTC or even current prescription drugs—because they’re well experienced with a lot of different treatments—those are the ones that come to IBSRELA.
We shouldn’t expect that we’re going to get first-line treatment just given the nature of the payer environment for any of these indications. So it’s not dissimilar to what we anticipate and see in the IBSRELA for IBS-C patient population.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Julian Harrison of BTIG.
Julian Harrison (Analyst at BTIG)
Hi, let me add my congratulations on the quarter and thank you for taking the questions. First, regarding the Access Initiative progress that you mentioned gaining traction in the third quarter, can you clarify whether underlying payer requirements themselves have changed at all or whether that progress is mostly reflective of more efficient execution on prior authorizations? And then on the DTC campaign, I’m curious if you’re already seeing any measurable step-up in patient engagement or prescription demand.
And was the strategy around the September timing there considering the strong seasonality you typically see for IBSRELA in the fourth quarter?
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah. So I think your last part first. Yeah, I mean we moved it up as quickly as we could just given our enthusiasm and the testing for the ad that we saw. Right. As I said in my opening comments, when we tested the ad with IBS-C patients, 91% of them said they would ask for it going to their physician, and we know the grant rate from physicians is quite high when a patient asks for a certain medicine. So that all aligns appropriately for what we want.
As I said in my opening statement, we’ve seen a significant increase in our traffic to our consumer-based website as we launched in September. So whether or not that translates into more scripts—early days—that’s something we’ll monitor and share with everyone as we get that. To the first part of your question, the answer is yes, I think it’s everything together. Similar to the other answers I’ve given, we have to be pulling on all different threads to try to facilitate this challenge that all patients, irrespective of IBSRELA or any therapeutic area for a new medicine, face. Prior authorization battles are what we all have to fight for in this industry. So deploying all tactics to try to facilitate that is what we’re doing.
Whether it’s the FRMs, thoughtfully negotiating with payers—we cannot give away the store—so we’re going to be very mindful of getting something for what we give, because I think, as you’ve heard me over the years, we could give every penny of the profit away and we probably wouldn’t have a substantively greater position than we have today. So it’s really trying to understand the bottom of the funnel—what are the investments that we make to facilitate that process.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Chris Raymond of Raymond James.
Sam Lee Chong (Analyst at Raymond James)
Hey, this is Sam Lee Chong for Chris. Thanks for taking our questions. Just one follow-up on CIC. I know there’s already a significant amount of off-label scripts for IBSRELA in the indication. Could you give us a ballpark estimate of how many IBSRELA patient scripts today are driven by CIC, and then how you think a future label expansion would change that?
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah, I mean, off-label utilization is probably something I won’t comment on. You know, we are approved only for IBS-C, so that’s what we anticipate folks are going to go through. Now, as we all know, a physician in practice of medicine can fight for a different utilization, and that’s their prerogative. We agree that there has been some organic utilization, both this and for that and in first line. That’s ultimately, I think, indicative of the conviction that treaters have for what IBSRELA can do for their patient population.
I think, as I said both in my opening comments and some of the questions that have happened already, it’s a sizable market. It will eliminate a friction where you as a physician have to determine whether I have constipation with pain or not. And if I don’t have constipation with pain, I probably will not get an IBSRELA script until you get the CIC indication. That’s the friction we’re trying to eliminate at the office level at the top of the funnel.
We’ll always have the battles at the bottom of the funnel, which is why we’re investing in the FRMs and other things that we’re doing.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Prakar Agrawal of Cantor Fitzgerald.
Prakar Agrawal (Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald)
Thank you so much for taking my questions and congrats on the quarter as well. So maybe on IBSRELA in 2027, I guess if you can comment on how we should think about access and contracting given that’s something that you had discussed before will be more
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Yeah, I appreciate your effort trying to get us to give you some perspective on ’27, but I won’t. But you know we’re going to mindfully do this, right? We’re not going to just do deals for the deal’s sake and contracting. So I think you’ll see us meaningfully, slowly, and thoughtfully move into it. But we have to get something in return for it. That is the rule. Gross to net — obviously we won’t comment for ’27, but for current gross to net…
Sue Hohenleitner (Chief Financial Officer)
Yep. For current gross to net for the three months, our blended rate was 31.7%, and that compares to this time last year at about 30.6%. So we continue to show a little bit more erosion to GTN, really just the normal mix of business as well as the inflation rebate penalties that we have to pay. As I’ve said before, although we combine it, we’re low to mid-30s is kind of what to expect, and that’s squarely where we are now for ’26.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Dennis Ding of Jefferies.
Dennis Ding (Analyst at Jefferies)
Thank you for taking my question. So regarding IBSRELLA, we’ve noticed some script weakness over the last few weeks and also some simultaneous channel mix. We are reassured by the fact that you reiterated IBSRELLA guidance, which means that the fundamentals are still fine. So is it that there’s a reporting discrepancy with the scripts?
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
I mean, I think as we all have talked about over this year, as we move to IPN, those are projected. Right? So that’s not 100% capture. We’re very confident in the guidance that we’ve given you, so the fundamentals are absolutely strong, as you articulated, Dennis. So that’s why we reaffirm where we think we’re going to end up this year. The business remains strong, the opportunity is significant. And as we move into IPN, there’s probably more projection.
Your patience as we look at projected numbers versus 100% capture that we see from IQVIA for other brands is just something we’re going to have to navigate together.
Sue Hohenleitner (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah, and I would just add to that too, a blip here and there — we try to really just look at the trends because we know there’s some data inaccuracies depending on what data source you use. So trends are looking strong and obviously continue to give us the confidence to reaffirm the guidance that we give.
OPERATOR
Our next question comes from Caroline Palomike of Ladenburg Thalmann.
Caroline Palomike (Analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann)
Hi, thanks for taking the question. Are there any updates on the pediatric program for IBSRELLA, either in the IBS-C indication or the FC indication? Thanks.
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
No. I mean, the intent in this earnings call was to give you an update on status changes, which is why we gave you the update on Excel. Nothing new to report on the pediatric program. Thanks.
OPERATOR
Are there any other questions? Yes. Our next question comes from Peyton Bonsack of TD Cowen.
Peyton Bonsack (Analyst at TD Cowen)
Hey, hi there. Thanks for taking the question. I guess with all the initiatives that you’ve got on board, could you give us a general timeline for when you want to see an inflection — either fulfillment rates or less friction — just to give an investor a sense of what to look for? And then, secondly, what makes you feel that this is the right amount of initiatives to take in order to stop any pushing with new payers?
Mike Raab (President & CEO)
Let me address the second part first. I never rest. I’m not sure it’s always enough initiatives. We should always be thinking of new things and trying new things as we look at the challenges that you face in any new drug like this. I think a dramatic inflection is probably not something anyone should anticipate. This is going to be something that we’re going to take steps in improving over time. There isn’t some magic bullet that you’re suddenly going to see a dramatic change in PA rates. And certainly what that would cost is not something I’m willing to even contemplate, because you have no certainty. So I think we all need to be prepared for meaningful steps that are going to take some time to eliminate the friction, both bottom of the funnel with things like FRMs and thoughtful contracting, rebate, and payers.
We need to be certain that what we’re giving up — because it’s a one-way street — is actually something that’s going to yield a benefit to the patients who are going through this process.
OPERATOR
And this concludes our question and answer session. There are no further questions at this time, and this concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for joining.
Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company’s SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants’ and analysts’ statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.
