Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Manufactures A Blockbuster Lupus Drug : See Our Piece Aurinia Pharmaceuticals & A Potential Blockbuster Lupus Drug
What Is Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Worth ? Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has become a target of M&A bankers recently. Furthermore, the development of their Lupus drug has gone better than many expected just a few months ago. It doesn’t really have any competitors for its application in the market. Moreover, one can consider their prescription velocity to be almost monopolistic.
Doctors do not have any other option. Aurinia’s offering is one of a kind.
Bristol Meyers has denied interest, but that is also due to the CEO being under fire for poor stock performance. An individual case, apparently ever tangential biotechnology player is considering Aurinia.
A recent analyst put the stock at $45.
But, when you consider the frothy valuations out there. 100x revenue for a 100% revenue growth story. With monopolistic tendencies, mixed in. Furthermore, provides for a potential value of $52-54 per share.
In January 2021, the FDA approved Aurinia’s drug for treatment for lupus nephritis, Voclosporin, making it only the second drug approved by the FDA for lupus nephritis (LN), after GSK’s “Grand Slam” drug Benlysta in December 2020. Though Benlysta has been used to treat lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus) since 2011. (1)
Lupus (SLE) and lupus nephritis are distinct, with lupus being the autoimmune disease itself. And lupus nephritis being when lupus has begun doing damage to the kidneys. With Voclosporin being approved for specifically lupus nephritis. Moreover, there are about 80,000 to 100,000 cases of lupus nephritis in the US and 1 million worldwide. (2)
Voclosporin is an immunosuppressive. In addition, doctors prescribe the regimen in cases where less aggressive methods have failed. Immunosuppressives are prescribed for lupus when patients haven’t responded to steroid treatments. Or can’t take high doses of steroids.
The other drugs in the immunosuppressive category with Voclosporin for treating lupus are chemotherapy drugs or a drug designed to prevent rejection during kidney transplants, and all have serious side effects (as you would expect from chemo drugs).
