Shield Therapeutics (STX ), a commercial stage pharmaceutical company, announced unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022 (FY22), including a business update on the growth of its flagship Accrufer treatment for iron deficiency.
Following December's announcement of Shield's collaborative sales agreement with Viatris, the two companies defined new territory maps and began recruiting an extra 100 sales professionals and 12 regional sales managers. The combined sales team (50/50 Shield and Viatris) will promote Accrufer to the 12,000 highest prescribers in their respective territories.
December's agreement with Viatris involved an up-front cash payment to Shield of US$5m with Shield and Viatris agreeing to share revenues 55%/45% respectively as both contribute equally to marketing Accrufer in the US. An additional US$30m is available to Shield contingent on sales milestones.
Shield said Accrufer prescriptions in Q1 2023 continued to increase, ending the quarter at over 10,500, with significant acceleration in March, showing the initial impact of the partnership with Viatris. Total Accrufer prescription volume grew 12% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2023, including 24% for first-time prescribers. Over 25,000 prescriptions were written in 2022 with consistent quarter-on-quarter growth, a 10x increase from FY21.
That saw total revenue triple to £4.5m from £1.5m in FY21. Total revenue excludes an upfront payment of £4.2 million, received upon execution of the co-promote arrangement with Viatris, expected to be recognised in FY23. Net product revenue from sales of Accrufer in the US was £2.9m , up from £100k in FY21. Royalty revenue was £1.4m from product sales in Europe.
Although operating losses before impairment and R&D expenditure widened to £24.6m, compared to £19.5m in FY21, the increase was expected as a result of continuing development of commercial operations in the US.
Shield is well funded following new financing of £36.6m, which is expected to support operations through to cash-flow breakeven, which Shield is targeting for Q4 2024. Cash on hand was £19.2m on 31 March 2023.
View from Vox
Shield's partnership with Viatris has begun to bear fruit, showing significant Accrufer growth in Q1 2023 after a record number of prescriptions were sold in FY22. The company's focus in Q2 remains on implementation of the agreeent with Viatris, namely creating new sales territories and hiring/training 50 new sales professionals and managers.
The commercial strategy with Viatris is gaining traction, particularly evident in March's prescription volumes, which accounted for 38% of quarterly revenue. First-time prescribers and new prescriptions grew at twice the rate of total prescriptions, showing strong momentum. Moreover, this was achieved with less than 1/3rd of the two companies' planned 100-member sales team, which should grow to its full size by 1 May. We therefore expect over 100,000 prescriptions to be sold in FY23, following 10x growth in FY22.
Shield's revenue grew 3x in FY22, though operating loss widened as a result of heavy investment in its commercial operations in the US. However, as the latter has already resulted in much higher sales volumes, we expect the company to reach its goal of cashflow positive by Q4 2024. Shield is well-funded with £19.2m in cash on 31 March 2023.
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