Esperion Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Core Insights - Esperion reported Q1 2025 total revenue of $65.0 million, a decrease of 53% year-over-year, but adjusted for a one-time milestone in Q1 2024, total revenue grew 63% year-over-year [1][15] - U.S. net product revenue increased by 41% year-over-year to $34.9 million [1][15] - Bempedoic acid received Level 1a recommendations in the 2025 ACC/AHA/ACEP/NAEMSP/SCAI guidelines for managing patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes [1][10] - The company expanded its development portfolio with a new program targeting Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), a market estimated to exceed $1 billion [1][3] Financial Performance - Total revenue for Q1 2025 was $65.0 million, down from $137.7 million in Q1 2024, primarily due to a settlement agreement milestone received in the previous year [15][33] - U.S. net product revenue rose to $34.9 million from $24.8 million in the same period last year, marking a 41% increase [15][33] - Collaboration revenue fell to $30.1 million from $113.0 million year-over-year, a decrease of 73%, but grew 97% when excluding the milestone [15][33] - The company reported a net loss of $40.5 million compared to a net income of $61.0 million in Q1 2024 [13][33] Commercial Strategy - The company surpassed one million prescriptions for bempedoic acid products in the U.S. [3][6] - Esperion expanded its reimbursement team from five to 15 specialists to enhance support for healthcare providers and patients [6] - New marketing initiatives targeting statin-intolerant patients, who represent 30% of the lipid-lowering market, are expected to drive prescription growth [6][3] - The company is advancing two triple combination products for commercialization in 2027, which could provide LDL-C lowering in excess of 60% [6][3] Research and Development - Esperion hosted an R&D Day highlighting its capabilities and promising research for PSC treatment candidates [10][7] - Pre-clinical data showed that the company's allosteric ACLY inhibitor could reduce liver injury markers in PSC models [10][7] - The estimated prevalence of diagnosed PSC patients in the U.S. and Europe is approximately 76,000 as of 2024 [10][7] Market Positioning - Esperion's European partner, Daiichi Sankyo Europe, reported an 8% sequential increase in royalty revenue to $10.5 million, indicating strong market penetration for its products [10][6] - The company is on track for expected approval and pricing in Japan in the second half of 2025 [6][10]