During Vertex’s third-quarter presentation, Chief Commercial Officer Duncan McKechnie cited several numbers that suggest the launch of its long-awaited, non-opioid pain reliever Journavx is trending positively.
One key figure, however, indicates otherwise, as sales for Journavx were at $20 million for the period, coming up $3 million short of the analyst consensus.
Vertex’s two other key launches also fell short of analyst expectations. Alyftrek, the company’s upgraded cystic fibrosis treatment approved in December of last year, achieved sales of $247 million for the quarter, $10 million shy of expectations. Meanwhile, Vertex’s sickle cell disease gene therapy Casgevy generated $17 million in revenue, far short of the $42 million consensus.
After a quarterly report that was characterized as “underwhelming” by Evercore ISI analyst Cory Kasimov, Vertex’s share price fell by 5% in premarket trading.
While the performance of Journavx is far from alarming, it does begin to raise questions about its adoption. Since the FDA approved it in January with a surprisingly broad label, Journavx has produced sales of $33 million. It will need a major rally in the fourth quarter to reach Citi’s 2025 sales projection of $110 million from earlier this year.
Monday afternoon, the company backed up its belief in Journavx with strong metrics. As of mid-October, more than 300,000 prescriptions have been filled for Journavx this year, including 170,000 in the third quarter, with adoption by a broad range of doctors including orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, pain specialists and dentists, according to Vertex.
“They are using Journavx in a wide range of pain settings including surgical and non-surgical procedures such as joint replacement and repair, shoulder surgeries, fractures and sprains and dental procedures,” McKechnie said.
The Vertex exec also reported that of the 2,000 U.S. hospitals the company has targeted, 750 have added Journavx to their formularies or treatment protocols. Same with 90 of the 150 healthcare systems Vertex has focused on.
The company has secured Journavx reimbursement policies for 170 million people in the U.S., which is up from 150 million three months ago. Coverage has been secured from two of the three major PBMs, and the company is working to add the third, Vertex said in its earnings release.
Through Medicaid, 19 states are providing access to Journavx without prior authorization or step-up requirements, which is up from 16 three months ago. Vertex added that Medicare coverage—which is expected to be gained by way of the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction In the Nation (NOPAIN) Act—has been held up by the U.S. government shutdown. The measure increases access to non-opioid approaches to pain management in the hospital setting.
Since it was launched in early March, the concern for Journavx has been its price at $15.50 for a 50-mg dose, compared to roughly $0.50 for a generic opioid pill.
“We continue to have high confidence that there is a significant unmet need for an effective non-opioid option to treat moderate to severe acute pain,” McKechnie said. “We’re in the early days of creating another multibillion-dollar franchise for Vertex.”
Vertex’s overall revenue for the third quarter came in at $3.1 billion, which was an increase of 11% year over year, bolstered by stronger-than-expected sales of cystic fibrosis stalwart Trikafta at $2.65 billion, which topped consensus by nearly $50 million. With the result, Vertex narrowed its 2025 revenue guidance to a range of between $11.9 billion and $12 billion.