Incyte’s blockbuster JAK inhibitor Jakafi has been driving the company’s sales for years now, with this quarter being no different. But, as an end-of -decade patent cliff approaches, the company is turning to new potential growth drivers to make up for the looming loss.
Incyte expects its three upcoming launches to pull together $800 million “or more” by 2029, CEO Herve Hoppenot said on the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call. Those products include Niktimvo, which was approved in August as a third-line chronic graft-versus-host disease treatment for post-transplant patients, Monjuvi in follicular lymphoma and PD-1 inhibitor Zynyz for squamous cell anal carcinoma (SCAC).
All three are expected to be available in 2025 with the latter two up for FDA approvals in the second half of next year, according to Incyte. Monjuvi would cover the biggest patient pool out of the three with around 23,000 across the U.S. and Europe, while Zynyz has “potential to become a new standard-of-care” in advanced SCAC.
Outside of the new offerings, Incyte’s topical JAK inhibitor Opzelura (ruxolitinib) is holding its own and brought in $139 million over the quarter across its two indications in vitiligo and atopic dermatitis. Next up for the drug is a potential label expansion to cover the 2 million to 3 million pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis in the U.S. and a phase 3 study in mild to moderate hidradenitis suppurativa, which is expected to kick off in the first half of 2025.
2025 should also see results from the company’s study of Opzelura in prurigo nodularis. With the trial currently “enrolling well,” Incyte is on track for a potential approval as early as 2026, head of R&D Pablo Cagnoni, M.D., said, making for the first topical therapy for the disease.
On the flip side, the company no longer plans to initiate a registrational study of the JAK inhibitor cream in inflammatory skin disease cutaneous lichen planus despite recently reporting “promising data” from a phase 2 study, Cagnoni said on the call. Nor will it pursue a registrational study in lichen sclerosus due to “the prioritization of other indications and programs.”
The company had previously estimated each of those market opportunities to be less than $1 billion, Mizuho analyst Salim Syed pointed out in a recent note to clients, with launch dates projected for 2027.
As for this quarter, Incyte raked in $1.1 billion in year-over-year growth of 24%, with Jakafi responsible for $741 million of those sales. The JAK inhibitor is expected to bring in $2.74 billion to $2.77 billion over 2024.