Ayvakit's explosive 185% revenue growth: A game-changer in rare disease treatment
This exceptional performance underscores the profound impact Ayvakit is having on patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM), a rare and debilitating disease. The therapy's growth is driven by strong patient adherence, a growing prescriber base, and a successful global expansion strategy. As Blueprint Medicines continues to redefine treatment standards and expand its reach, Ayvakit is poised to solidify its position as a leader in the treatment of SM and other related conditions. OSP’s senior editor, Liza Laws, had a solid conversation with Philina Lee, chief commercial officer at Blueprint Medicines to find out more.
LL: Can you provide an overview of the key factors that contributed to Ayvakit’s significant revenue growth of 185% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024?
We see strong and steady growth in patients on therapy, driven by new patient starts, low discontinuation rates consistent with multi-year durations on treatment, and strong compliance with daily regimens of Ayvakit. These results reflect the profound impact Ayvakit is having on patients’ lives. The broad and growing prescriber base, including hematologists/oncologists and allergists in both academic and community settings, bodes well for continued growth. The positive trends we’ve seen in our U.S. launch are playing out internationally as well. I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication of our team and what we’ve accomplished to date. We’ve built strong momentum, and based on our successes so far, we’ve updated our expected full-year guidance, which would reflect a more than doubling of revenues since last year.
LL: What are the major milestones and strategic initiatives for Blueprint Medicines in the upcoming quarters that you believe will drive further growth and market penetration for Ayvakit?
Our main focus areas are driving increased breadth and depth of prescribing and activating patients to seek treatment. To achieve these goals, we are focused on redefining what “well-controlled” disease means for patients and providers. The burden of disease is often under-recognized by providers, and patients can get accustomed to a “new normal” where they are making compromises to control their disease, such as limiting their daily activities to avoid triggers. To address this, we are raising awareness with providers and creating opportunities for peer-to-peer education, and we are providing programs where patients can share their experiences with others. Additionally, we are working to bring Ayvakit to more countries worldwide, through our global footprint as well as distributors, and we continue to report Pioneer trial data supporting the long-term safety and efficacy of Ayvakit.
LL: How does Blueprint Medicines plan to achieve its projected peak revenue of more than $2 billion for Ayvakit? What are the main drivers and challenges you anticipate on this trajectory?
A: We have four quarters under our belt since the approval in ISM, and each quarter increases our conviction on the path to reach a greater than $2 billion peak revenue opportunity. The main growth levers are strengthening penetration into already diagnosed patients who are not well-controlled, broadening providers’ lens on appropriate patients for Ayvakit, increasing diagnostic rates, and expanding into more geographies. Trying a new treatment can be a big step for patients who are acclimated to a “new normal,” have adapted their lives to avoid triggers, and are often taking many symptom-directed therapies—they often don’t want to “disrupt the apple cart.” That’s why building connections between patients is so important. In addition, providers may lack the urgency to treat the disease, so it’s crucial to educate them on how ISM involves the accumulation of abnormal, mutated mast cells in the bone marrow and other organs, leading to debilitating symptoms and long-term health consequences like bone deterioration.
LL: Could you elaborate on the recent advancements in the treatment of systemic mastocytosis (SM) and how Ayvakit is positioned within this therapeutic landscape?
A: Traditional treatments include a range of symptom-directed therapies, and patients often experience debilitating symptoms across multiple organ systems, leading to a profound, negative impact on quality of life. Ayvakit represents the first approved medicine for ISM, and the only therapy that targets the source of the disease. We have generated an expanding dataset of clinical and real-world experience with Ayvakit, continuing to show durable symptom response and a well-tolerated safety profile.
LL: What feedback have you received from healthcare providers and patients regarding
Ayvakit’s efficacy and impact on managing systemic mastocytosis symptoms?
What we've heard is that we are beginning to change the experience of living with ISM. Patients are sharing that Ayvakit is life-changing, enabling them to return to work, school, and family activities, and reducing symptoms and unpredictable flares. Physicians tell us that the long-term safety and efficacy data of Ayvakit are highly motivating. Ultimately, they are looking for therapy to significantly improve overall symptoms and quality of life, with a well-tolerated safety profile supporting long-term treatment.
LL: How does Blueprint Medicines plan to expand the market for Ayvakit beyond its current indications? Are there ongoing or planned addtional clinical trials?
Ayvakit is approved by the FDA for three indications: ISM, advanced systemic mastocytosis, and a subset of advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors. A year into the ISM launch, we have just started scratching the surface of reaching all the patients with this disease who may benefit from Ayvakit. Additionally, we are continuing to follow long-term data from the open-label extension study of the Pioneer trial, where patients with ISM may receive therapy for up to five years.
LL: What role does patient education and support play in the successful adoption and utilization of Ayvakit, and what initiatives has Blueprint Medicines implemented in this regard?
Living with ISM can be isolating, and establishing patient-to-patient connections is a critical part of the journey to treatment. We have launched several initiatives to enable patients to connect with others and build community, such as a monthly educational series where patients can learn from the experiences of others who are taking Ayvakit, including our first in-person patient ambassador program in conjunction with the Mast Cell Disease Society's MastCellCon last month, and a direct-to-patient campaign to raise awareness of the toll of living with ISM and the availability of an approved treatment option. To support disease awareness, we launched ‘Colors of SM: Expressions of Life with Systemic Mastocytosis’ - a program leveraging artwork to illuminate the experiences of living with SM.
LL: Can you discuss the importance of addressing rare diseases like systemic mastocytosis and how Blueprint Medicines is positioning itself as a leader in this space?
The impact of rare diseases can be poorly understood, with patients often underserved by traditional treatments and frequently seeing multiple clinical specialists over many years in pursuit of a diagnosis. For over a decade, Blueprint Medicines has demonstrated leadership by working closely with patient advocates and SM experts to better understand the disease burden, improve diagnostic rates, and transform patient outcomes. Following disease awareness-building activities led by Blueprint, SM diagnostic rates have consistently grown, and we developed a sponsored testing program to help enable broad access to high-sensitivity, blood-based assays for patients suspected of having SM. In addition, we have engaged with the SM community to inform each step of developing Ayvakit and bringing it to patients.
LL: Beyond Ayvakit, what other therapies or treatments are in the pipeline for Blueprint Medicines, and how do they align with the company’s overall mission and strategic goals?
Our key focus is mast cell diseases, where we leverage unique expertise and capabilities generated from over a decade of advancing treatment in SM. Mast cell diseases include a number of allergy and inflammatory conditions with large patient populations. We’ve moved the investigational medicine BLU-808 into the clinic and are anticipating initial results from a healthy volunteer study early next year. These data could mark an important inflection point for the program, enabling us to rapidly initiate clinical proof-of-concept trials in mast cell disorders such as chronic urticaria.
Another focus area is inhibiting the cell cycle to treat breast cancer. Clinical data for BLU-222 is validating the importance of CDK2 as a therapeutic target and gives us conviction that the next frontier in treating breast cancer is inhibiting cell cycle regulators with combination therapy. We are also making significant progress advancing cell cycle degraders, leveraging our targeted protein degradation research platform.
LL: How does Blueprint Medicines plan to leverage its financial performance and growth to further its research and development efforts in the coming years?
We are in a strong financial position based on our significant revenue growth and commitment to maintain discipline in managing operating expenses. Blueprint Medicines is making focused investments in therapeutic areas where there are high medical needs for large patient populations, and where we can leverage our expertise and infrastructure to scale our impact. For example, we apply our deep understanding of biologic pathways developed from our SM programs to advance our efforts in mast cell diseases.
LL: Considering the quarter two 2024 financial results, what are the key takeaways for investors and stakeholders regarding Blueprint Medicines' future outlook and financial health?
Blueprint Medicines is in an exceptionally strong position, with a foundation of significant and growing revenue from Ayvakit, a next wave of therapies in our pipeline that address medical needs in large patient populations, and a financial profile anchored by sustainable top-line revenue growth.
LL: Can you provide insights into the competitive landscape for therapies treating systemic mastocytosis and how Ayvakit differentiates itself from other available treatments?
Traditional treatments include a broad range of symptom-directed therapies, such as antihistamines, cromolyn sodium, proton pump inhibitors, and corticosteroids. Ayvakit is the only medicine approved to treat ISM, and the first therapy designed to target the root cause of the disease. Pioneer was the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to show statistically significant improvements in overall symptoms and quality of life for patients with ISM. Ayvakit sets a high bar for the treatment of this disease, and we are committed to delivering continued innovation for patients living with SM.
