May 10, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
RALEIGH, N.C. – Challenges in prescription growth of its lead product Bunavail, BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. will consolidate its sales force in order to reduce spending by $20 million through 2017, the company announced this morning.
The company said its consolidation plan is part of a strategic initiative to “better align” expenses for Bunavail with revenue streams in order to “preserve and enhance long-term value.” The company said its sales strategy for the drug has not yielded the results the company was hoping. Through the first quarter of 2016, over 3,000 physicians have prescribed Bunavail with 350 new prescribers added during the first quarter. Since its launch in 2014, Bunavail, a prescription medication used in helping those with a dependence on opiods, has dispensed more than 100,000 times, the company said.
Those struggles for the drug to gain traction have forced the company to cut costs in its sales force in order to ensure shareholder value, Mark Sirgo, BDSI’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. How many positions will be eliminated are not known. Additionally, the company said it plans to reduce its marketing budget for Bunavail.
Although struggling to find favor by prescribing doctors, BDSI reported revenue generated by the drug increased 41 percent in the first quarter to $2.1 million, compared to the previous year. However, that increase was down from the final quarter of 2015, when prescriptions increased 180 percent, the company said. Prescription costs for Bunavail also increased, from $60 in 2015, to more than $72 this year. Total revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $3 million, the company said.
“BDSI continues to evolve, and we made progress in all areas of the business during the first quarter, despite facing challenges in prescription growth for BUNAVAIL,” Sirgo said in a statement. “While prescription sales of Bunavail were relatively flat in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, we improved Bunavail profitability generating a 41 percent increase in net revenue.”
BDSI is not the only North Carolina company to have its lead drug struggle to find a foothold with prescribers. Sprout, the maker of the female sex-drug Addyi, has also seen stagnant sales of its drug. Earlier this year, Sprout’s parent company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals , cut the sales force associated with that drug.
Other initiatives BDSI will take as part of its consolidation includes additional managed care contracts and utilizing a plan from the Department of Health and Human Services to increase the patient cap. The federal health department recently proposed to allow physicians to treat up to 200 patients from the current 100 level with buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid dependence. The HHS ruling is now open for a 60 day comment period prior to finalization and implementation, the company said.
“BDSI remains focused on creating long-term shareholder value through the commercialization of our marketed products, the growth of our development pipeline and disciplined capital management,” Sirgo said.
During the first quarter of 2016, BDSI saw its Belbuca buccal film approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. BDSI has a commercial partnership for Belbuca with Endo Pharmaceuticals , which reported favorable feedback on the drug from healthcare providers.
Over the next year, BDSI said it anticipates FDA approval of induction claim for Bunavail in the third quarter of this year.BDSI reported it had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $69.4 million as of March 31, compared to $83.6 million on Dec. 31, 2015.
