Drugs manufacturer Shield Therapeutics widened losses to £11.8m in the first half of the year, but has hailed progress in its key US market.
The listed pharmaceuticals firm, which has a base on Gateshead Quays, reported higher revenue of £2m in the period as it said there was growing momentum behind prescriptions of its flagship iron deficiency product in the US. One year on from the Stateside launch of Accrufer, Shield pointed to a 350% increase in prescriptions to 11,223 among GPs and women's health specialists.
In carrying out its US commercial strategy and launch plan, Shield said it had introduced more than 1,000 first time prescribers of Accrufer tablets and 2,300 healthcare providers had participated in its sponsored programmes. And in Europe, sales of its drugs - marketed as Feraccru - were 15% higher compared to the first half of 2021.
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It said the UK now makes up about 20% of the total Feraccru packs sold by commercial partner Norgine. In Asia, Shield's Chinese license partner, Beijing Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd completed a study and is recruiting inflammatory bowel disease patients for another.
In the second half of the year, Shield said it would balance its financial resources with the need to invest in salespeople and marketing in the US. The firm also told shareholders it was talking to various parties about new financing opportunities to grow the Accrufer business.
Greg Madison, CEO of Shield Therapeutics, stated: "Shield delivered a strong first half of 2022 and executed well across the company's main commercial priorities. We are increasing awareness, developing new writers, growing prescriptions and expanding payor access, all with a small, motivated commercial footprint in the US.
"We continue to believe there is tremendous potential to disrupt the iron deficiency market that has lacked innovative new therapies that can offer the efficacy, tolerability and convenience as seen with Accrufer in our clinical trials to individuals suffering from iron deficiency or iron deficiency anaemia. Based on our interim results and ongoing feedback from target prescribers, we are even more confident today about the potential for Accrufer to become the oral iron treatment of choice."
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