Seattle Genetics Reports Q2 Results, ADCETRIS Sales in Focus

Powerhouse Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ:SGEN) released its Q2 2018 financial results on Thursday (July 26), with sales of its ADCETRIS product largely in focus.

The company said in the release that net sales of ADCETRIS in Q2 totaled US$122.4 million between the US and Canada, a 65 percent boost compared to sales of US$74.3 million in Q2 of 2017.

Overall net sales of the product were US$217.8 million year-to-date, representing a 51 percent increase from the same period in 2017 at US$144.8 million.

Contributing to the product’s growth over the last year is a result of its label expansions, including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in November 2017 and frontline Stage III or IV Hodgkin lymphoma in March of this year.

“Our ADCETRIS sales growth in the first full quarter following FDA approval in frontline Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma demonstrates a strong reception from the oncology community,” Clay Siegall, Ph.D, president and CEO of Seattle Genetics said in the release.

Siegall added that ADCETRIS will be undergoing a phase 3 ECHELON-2 trial in frontline CD30-expressing mature T-cell lymphomas by Q4 2018.

ADCETRIS was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March of this year in combination with chemotherapy for treating adult patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin Lymphoma as a result of positive results form the company’s phase 3 ECHELON-1 clinical trial.

In addition to its ADCETRIS product, Seattle Genetics’ pipeline also includes novel targeted therapies at various stages of clinical testing, which includes three in ongoing or planned pivotal trials for solid tumors.

Enfortumab Vedotin is the first therapy. In Seattle Genetics Q2 results, the company highlighted that it and Astellas completed enrolment in the first cohort of the EV-201 pivotal trial in patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who had received a checkpoint inhibitor (PD-1/PDL-1) and a platinum-containing regime.  Top-line data is projected in the first half of 2019.

Tucatinib is the second therapy.  Program activities reported in Seattle Genetics’ results include enrolment ongoing in the tucatinib HER2CLIMB randomized pivotal trial for patients with HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer for those who have already been treated with HER2-targeted agents.  Seattle Genetics expects to complete the enrolment by 2019.

The third therapy is Tisotumab Vedotin. Some recent activity reported in Seattle Genetics’ financial results states it–together with Genmab–began a Phase 2 trial for patients with recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer that either relapsed or progressed after standard of care.

Looking ahead to Q3, Seattle Genetics said it estimates stales of ADCETRIS to fall between US$130 million and $135 million.

Shares of Seattle Genetics increased 0.44 percent on Thursday to close the trading session at US$71.25. The company currently has a “Moderate Buy” ranking on Tip Ranks based on four analyst ratings with an average price target of US$70.33, a high estimate of US$80 and a low estimate of US$54.

TradingView has a stronger consensus with 16 in favor of the stock, nine as “Neutral” and only one ranking Seattle Genetics as a “Sell.”

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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.