3 Pharma Stories JPMorgan Is Watching

In a report published Monday, JP Morgan analysts presented their IMS Weekly Highlights. Following the slowdown in 2013, the analysts said that they were closely watching the Rx trends. JP Morgan continues to view DPP-4 category growth as a "critical driver" for several companies. "In the most recent week, DPP-4s represented 12.6% of TRx share in the oral diabetes market, with the category up 7.4% YOY. From a share perspective, the Januvia franchise held 72.0%TRx, followed by Onglyza/Kombiglyze XR at 13.4%TRx share and the Tradjenta franchise at 13.2% of TRx share," the analysts wrote. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY: Eliquis: "Eliquis recorded 63,244TRx (8.2% share). We continue to view Eliquis as a best-in-class agent but acknowledge a broader label maybe needed to help drive share. We note that the FDA has approved Eliquis for VTE prevention post-surgery as well as for VTE treatment, and we will continue watch to see if these indications can drive an inflection in scripts. Meanwhile, Pradaxa's TRx share of the oral anticoagulant market is 5.1% and Xarelto's now makes up 17.5% share." AbbVie Inc ABBV: Viekira Pak: "Closely watching HCV launch trends. IMS is reporting 345TRx for AbbVie's Viekira Pak HCV oral combo this week. We note that IMS does not capture any scripts through Express Scripts." Express Scripts had inked a multi-year contract with AbbVie to make Viekira Pak the exclusive option on the company's formulary, which represented about 8% of the total US market, for the treatment of genotype 1 HCV patients. With 70% of the market under contract, AbbVie management had disclosed that it has secured exclusive status for lives representing 27% of the HCV market and has access to another 17% of lives. "Despite ongoing headline noise around pricing and formulary contracts, we continue to see HCV representing a multi-billion dollar franchise for AbbVie," the analysts said. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited TEVA: Copaxone: "Focus is on3x weekly conversion. Total Copaxone TRx were 13,939 (up 3.3% YOY), with the 3x weekly version (40mg) accounting for roughly 66.0% of overall scripts. In general, we expect the Copaxone franchise to continue to be impacted by branded orals, including Tecfidera, which reported scripts of 9,665in the week. The market remains dynamic, and we will continue monitoring these trends," the report added.