Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Recent Portfolio Execution

Rhea-AI Summary

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals reported strong Q2 2024 financial results, with ARCALYST net product revenue of $103.4 million, representing 90% year-over-year growth. The company increased its 2024 ARCALYST revenue guidance to $405-$415 million. Key highlights include:

1. Approximately 11% of the 14,000 multiple-recurrence target population actively on ARCALYST treatment.
2. Average total duration of ARCALYST therapy increased to ~26 months.
3. Enrollment began in the abiprubart Phase 2b trial for Sjögren's Disease.
4. Total revenue for Q2 2024 was $108.6 million.
5. Net loss for Q2 2024 was $3.9 million.
6. Cash position of $218.8 million with no debt as of June 30, 2024.

Kiniksa expects to remain cash flow positive on an annual basis, with abiprubart's clinical development fully funded in the current operating plan.

Positive

• ARCALYST Q2 2024 net product revenue grew 90% year-over-year to $103.4 million
• Increased 2024 ARCALYST net product revenue guidance to $405-$415 million
• 11% of the 14,000 multiple-recurrence target population actively on ARCALYST treatment
• Average total duration of ARCALYST therapy increased to 26 months
• Total revenue for Q2 2024 was $108.6 million, up from $71.5 million in Q2 2023
• Strong cash position of $218.8 million with no debt as of June 30, 2024
• Company expects to remain cash flow positive on an annual basis

Negative

• Net loss of $3.9 million in Q2 2024, compared to net income of $15.0 million in Q2 2023
• Total operating expenses increased to $108.7 million in Q2 2024 from $74.6 million in Q2 2023
• Collaboration expenses increased to $30.0 million in Q2 2024 from $14.0 million in Q2 2023

Financial Analyst

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals' second-quarter results for 2024 present a notable performance surge, driven primarily by the strong market adoption of ARCALYST. With a hefty $103.4 million in net product revenue, this reflects an impressive 90% year-over-year growth. This revenue boost is likely to augment investor confidence in Kiniksa's commercial strategy for ARCALYST, especially considering the enhanced revenue projection range of $405 to $415 million for 2024.

The company's commitment to remaining cash flow positive on an annual basis further underscores its robust financial health. Kiniksa's ample liquidity, highlighted by $218.8 million in cash and equivalents and no debt as of June 30, 2024, positions it well for sustained operational and strategic investments. Retail investors should consider the potential for continued revenue growth and positive cash flow as significant indicators of financial stability.

However, a slight dip to a net loss of $3.9 million for Q2 2024 compared to a net income of $15 million in Q2 2023 may cause slight concern. Nonetheless, given the overall positive trajectory in revenue and strategic investments, this appears to be a minor setback in an otherwise strong financial performance.

Market Research Analyst

The market potential for ARCALYST is becoming increasingly evident, with an 11% penetration in the target population of 14,000 multiple-recurrence pericarditis patients. This growth in market share, alongside the increase in average therapy duration to 26 months, signals strong patient retention and satisfaction.

Strategic partnerships and awareness campaigns, such as those with the American Heart Association and NHL Hall-of-Famer Henrik Lundqvist, are likely to further enhance ARCALYST's market presence. These initiatives can improve patient outcomes and drive higher adoption rates, which is promising for long-term revenue stability.

Additionally, the growth prospects from abiprubart's clinical development for Sjögren’s Disease represent a potential new revenue stream. The ongoing phase 2b trials and full funding for this development indicate strategic foresight in addressing unmet medical needs, which could yield substantial future returns for investors as the market for autoimmune therapies expands.

Medical Research Analyst

The clinical progress of Kiniksa's portfolio, particularly with abiprubart, showcases the company's commitment to innovation in autoimmune disease treatment. Sjögren’s Disease, a chronic condition with no FDA-approved therapies, represents a significant unmet need. The enrollment in Phase 2b trials for abiprubart is a critical milestone. If successful, this could pave the way for a novel therapeutic option and open new revenue avenues.

Moreover, ARCALYST's efficacy in recurrent pericarditis, as evidenced by the growing number of prescribers and longer therapy durations, indicates the drug's effectiveness and acceptance. This real-world data supports ARCALYST's positioning as a standard care option, which could solidify its market stronghold and drive sustained revenue growth.

Looking forward, the clinical milestones achieved by Kiniksa are likely to enhance its reputation and credibility in the biopharmaceutical sector. For retail investors, the clinical progress provides a important insight into the potential long-term value and growth opportunities within Kiniksa's pipeline.

– ARCALYST^® (rilonacept) Q2 2024 net product revenue of $103.4 million, representing 90% year-over-year growth –
– ARCALYST 2024 expected net product revenue increased to $405 - $415 million –
– Abiprubart clinical development fully funded; Phase 2b clinical trial in Sjögren’s Disease enrolling patients –
– Kiniksa expects to remain cash flow positive on an annual basis –
– Conference call and webcast scheduled for 8:30 am ET today –

LONDON, July 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (Nasdaq: KNSA) (Kiniksa), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of immune-modulating assets designed to target a spectrum of cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, today reported second quarter 2024 financial results and recent portfolio execution.

“Kiniksa’s work to establish ARCALYST as the standard of care in recurrent pericarditis continues to drive the company’s commercial performance. As of the end of the second quarter, ~11% of the 14,000 multiple-recurrence target population were actively on ARCALYST treatment, and total average duration of therapy increased to approximately 26 months. We now expect 2024 ARCALYST net sales to increase to between $405 and $415 million from our previous guidance of between $370 and $390 million,” said Sanj K. Patel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kiniksa. “Within our pipeline, commencing enrollment in the abiprubart Phase 2b trial in Sjögren’s Disease, a debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease, which currently has no FDA-approved therapies, represents an exciting growth opportunity for the company. Clinical development of abiprubart in Sjögren’s Disease is fully funded in our current operating plan, and we expect to remain cash flow positive on an annual basis.”

Portfolio Execution
ARCALYST (IL-1α and IL-1β cytokine trap)

• ARCALYST net product revenue was $103.4 million for the second quarter of 2024.
• Since launch in April 2021, more than 2,300 prescribers have written ARCALYST prescriptions for recurrent pericarditis.
• As of the end of the second quarter of 2024, the average total duration of ARCALYST therapy in recurrent pericarditis increased to approximately 26 months, compared to ~23 months as of the end of the first quarter of 2024.
• As of the end of the second quarter of 2024, approximately 11% of the target 14,000 multiple-recurrence patients were actively on ARCALYST treatment, compared to ~9% as of the end of 2023.
• In June 2024, Kiniksa announced its sponsorship of the American Heart Association’s Addressing Recurrent Pericarditis initiative, a multi-faceted effort aimed at improving access to expert care and quality of care for patients with recurrent pericarditis.
• In June 2024, Kiniksa announced a partnership with National Hockey League Hall-of-Famer, Henrik Lundqvist, to raise awareness in support of patients suffering from recurrent pericarditis.

Abiprubart (anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody inhibitor of CD40-CD154 interaction)

• Kiniksa is enrolling patients in a Phase 2b clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of biweekly and monthly abiprubart administered subcutaneously in patients with Sjögren’s Disease.
  

Financial Results

• Total revenue for the second quarter of 2024 was $108.6 million, compared to $71.5 million for the second quarter of 2023.
  • Total revenue for the second quarter of 2024 included $5.2 million in license and collaboration revenue, compared to $17.0 million for the second quarter of 2023.
• Total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2024 were $108.7 million, compared to $74.6 million for the second quarter of 2023.
  • Total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2024 included $30.0 million in collaboration expenses, which are driven by ARCALYST collaboration profitability, compared to $14.0 million for the second quarter of 2023.
  • Total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2024 included $7.4 million in non-cash, share-based compensation expense, compared to $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2023.
• Net loss for the second quarter of 2024 was $3.9 million, compared to a net income of $15.0 million for the second quarter of 2023.
• As of June 30, 2024, Kiniksa had $218.8 million of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments and no debt.
  

Financial Guidance

• Kiniksa expects 2024 ARCALYST net product revenue of between $405 million and $415 million, compared to prior guidance of between $370 million and $390 million.
• Kiniksa expects to remain cash flow positive on an annual basis.

Conference Call Information

• Kiniksa will host a conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, to discuss second quarter 2024 financial results and recent portfolio execution.
• Individuals interested in participating in the call via telephone may register here. Upon registration, all telephone participants will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the conference call, including the dial-in number along with a unique passcode and registrant ID that can be used to access the call. To access the webcast, please visit the Investors and Media section of Kiniksa’s website. A replay of the event will also be available on Kiniksa’s website within approximately 48 hours after the event.

About Kiniksa
Kiniksa is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutic medicines for patients suffering from debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical need. Kiniksa’s immune-modulating assets, ARCALYST, abiprubart, and mavrilimumab, are based on strong biologic rationale or validated mechanisms, target a spectrum of underserved cardiovascular and autoimmune conditions, and offer the potential for differentiation. For more information, please visit www.kiniksa.com.

About ARCALYST
ARCALYST is a weekly, subcutaneously injected recombinant dimeric fusion protein that blocks interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) signaling. ARCALYST was discovered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Regeneron) and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for recurrent pericarditis, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS), including Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome and Muckle-Wells Syndrome, and deficiency of IL-1 receptor antagonist (DIRA). The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to ARCALYST for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis in 2019 and Orphan Drug exclusivity to ARCALYST in 2021 for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis and reduction in risk of recurrence in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older. The European Commission granted Orphan Drug Designation to ARCALYST for the treatment of idiopathic pericarditis in 2021.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION ABOUT ARCALYST

• ARCALYST may affect your immune system and can lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections. Serious infections, including life-threatening infections and death, have happened in patients taking ARCALYST. If you have any signs of an infection, call your doctor right away. Treatment with ARCALYST should be stopped if you get a serious infection. You should not begin treatment with ARCALYST if you have an infection or have infections that keep coming back (chronic infection).
• While taking ARCALYST, do not take other medicines that block interleukin-1, such as Kineret^® (anakinra), or medicines that block tumor necrosis factor, such as Enbrel^® (etanercept), Humira^® (adalimumab), or Remicade^® (infliximab), as this may increase your risk of getting a serious infection.
• Talk with your doctor about your vaccine history. Ask your doctor whether you should receive any vaccines before you begin treatment with ARCALYST.
• Medicines that affect the immune system may increase the risk of getting cancer.
• Stop taking ARCALYST and call your doctor or get emergency care right away if you have any symptoms of an allergic reaction.
• Your doctor will do blood tests to check for changes in your blood cholesterol and triglycerides.
• Common side effects include injection-site reactions (which may include pain, redness, swelling, itching, bruising, lumps, inflammation, skin rash, blisters, warmth, and bleeding at the injection site), upper respiratory tract infections, joint and muscle aches, rash, ear infection, sore throat, and runny nose.
  

For more information about ARCALYST, talk to your doctor and see the Product Information.

About Abiprubart
Abiprubart is an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to CD40 and is designed to inhibit the CD40-CD154 (CD40 ligand) interaction, a key T-cell co-stimulatory signal critical for B-cell maturation and immunoglobulin class switching and Type 1 immune responses. Kiniksa believes disrupting the CD40-CD154 co-stimulatory interaction is an attractive approach to addressing multiple autoimmune disease pathologies.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation, statements regarding: our expectation that ARCALYST 2024 net product revenue will be between $405 million and $415 million; our expectation that clinical development of abiprubart in Sjögren’s Disease is fully funded in our current operating plan; our expectation to remain cash flow positive on an annual basis; our beliefs about the mechanisms of our product candidates and potential impact of their approach, including that using abiprubart to disrupt the CD40-CD154 co-stimulatory interaction is an attractive approach to address multiple autoimmune disease pathologies; and our belief that all of our product candidates offer the potential for differentiation.

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, the following: delays or difficulty in enrollment of patients in, and activation or continuation of sites for, our clinical trials; delays or difficulty in completing our clinical trials as originally designed; potential for changes between final data and any preliminary, interim, top-line or other data from clinical trials; our inability to replicate results from our earlier clinical trials or studies; impact of additional data from us or other companies, including the potential for our data to produce negative, inconclusive or commercially uncompetitive results; potential undesirable side effects caused by our products and product candidates; our inability to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities; potential for applicable regulatory authorities to not accept our filings, delay or deny approval of any of our product candidates or require additional data or trials to support approval; our reliance on third parties as the sole source of supply of the drug substance and drug product used in our products and product candidates; raw material, important ancillary product and drug substance and/or drug product shortages; our reliance on third parties to conduct research, clinical trials, and/or certain regulatory activities for our product candidates; complications in coordinating requirements, regulations and guidelines of regulatory authorities across jurisdictions for our clinical trials; changes in our operating plan, business development strategy or funding requirements; and existing or new competition.

These and other important factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the caption “Risk Factors” contained therein, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Every Second Counts! ^®

Kiniksa Investor and Media Contact
Rachel Frank
(339) 970-9437
rfrank@kiniksa.com

KINIKSA PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL, PLC
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS KINIKSA PHARMACEUTICALS, LTD.)
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
		Three Months Ended								Six Months Ended
		June 30,								June 30,
		2024				2023				2024				2023
Revenue:
Product revenue, net		$	103,394			$	54,495			$	182,279			$	97,154
License and collaboration revenue			5,237				16,978				6,210				22,664
Total revenue			108,631				71,473				188,489				119,818
Costs and operating expenses:
Cost of goods sold			12,322				7,699				22,905				14,735
Collaboration expenses			30,014				13,986				50,815				22,274
Research and development			24,017				23,767				50,351				38,939
Selling, general and administrative			42,395				29,175				81,077				58,220
Total operating expenses			108,748				74,627				205,148				134,168
Loss from operations			(117	)			(3,154	)			(16,659	)			(14,350	)
Other income			2,421				1,915				4,687				3,747
Income (loss) before income taxes			2,304				(1,239	)			(11,972	)			(10,603	)
Benefit (provision) for income taxes			(6,212	)			16,211				(9,640	)			13,305
Net income (loss)		$	(3,908	)		$	14,972			$	(21,612	)		$	2,702
Net income (loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders—basic		$	(0.06	)		$	0.21			$	(0.31	)		$	0.04
Net income (loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders—diluted		$	(0.06	)		$	0.21			$	(0.31	)		$	0.04
Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding—basic			71,004,640				69,918,287				70,818,831				69,835,452
Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding—diluted			71,004,640				71,634,729				70,818,831				71,420,026

KINIKSA PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL, PLC
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS KINIKSA PHARMACEUTICALS, LTD.)
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
		As of
		June 30,				December 31,
			2024				2023
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments		$	218,758			$	206,371
Working capital			216,730				212,631
Total assets			542,428				526,322
Accumulated deficit			(499,562	)			(477,950	)
Total shareholders' equity			435,095				438,839

FAQ

What was Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals' (KNSA) ARCALYST revenue in Q2 2024?

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals reported ARCALYST net product revenue of $103.4 million for Q2 2024, representing 90% year-over-year growth.

Has Kiniksa (KNSA) updated its 2024 revenue guidance for ARCALYST?

Yes, Kiniksa increased its 2024 ARCALYST net product revenue guidance to between $405 million and $415 million, up from the previous guidance of $370-$390 million.

What is the status of Kiniksa's (KNSA) abiprubart clinical trial for Sjögren's Disease?

Kiniksa is currently enrolling patients in a Phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of abiprubart in patients with Sjögren's Disease.

What was Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals' (KNSA) financial position as of June 30, 2024?

As of June 30, 2024, Kiniksa had $218.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, with no debt.

Did Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (KNSA) report a profit or loss for Q2 2024?

Kiniksa reported a net loss of $3.9 million for Q2 2024, compared to a net income of $15.0 million for Q2 2023.