Indivior Cuts Revenue Outlook and Workforce, Drops Schizophrenia Drug

Indivior has revised its sales forecast for its leading product, Sublocade, and halted sales of its schizophrenia medication, Perseris. Additionally, the company is planning to downsize its workforce by laying off 130 employees.

Originally, just seven weeks ago, Indivior had predicted an 18% revenue growth for the current year. However, the company has now adjusted this estimate to an 8% increase. This reduction is attributed to heightened competition for Sublocade, a treatment for opioid addiction, and unfavorable "payor dynamics" affecting Perseris, its drug for schizophrenia.

Despite Perseris achieving a 50% sales growth last year, reaching $42 million, Indivior has decided to discontinue its sales. The company expects this move to save approximately $50 million. The company has also disclosed that it will settle an antitrust lawsuit for $85 million, avoiding a trial that was scheduled for mid-July. This settlement is one of several that Indivior has made in recent years to resolve various antitrust and marketing-related claims.

Regarding Sublocade, which is the company's best-selling product, the sales projection for 2024 has been revised. Initially, Indivior expected sales to range between $820 million and $880 million. This estimate has now been lowered to a range of $765 million to $805 million. Last year, Sublocade generated $630 million, marking a 54% year-over-year increase.

Consequently, Indivior has also revised its overall revenue estimate for 2024. The previous forecast was between $1.24 billion and $1.33 billion, but this has now been reduced to a range of $1.15 billion to $1.22 billion.

Following these announcements, Indivior’s share price experienced a significant drop of 33%.

Indivior CEO Mark Crowley stated that the company is taking "decisive action" to benefit shareholders. Crowley explained that increased "payor management" had rendered the future of Perseris financially untenable. He also mentioned that new competition from Camurus’ Brixadi, another extended-release treatment for opioid use disorder, has impacted Sublocade's sales. Additionally, the termination of COVID-related emergency measures, which had allowed automatic renewals for Medicaid coverage, has further influenced sales negatively.

On a more optimistic note, Indivior is focusing on its new opioid overdose medication, Opvee, a nasal spray approved 14 months ago. Opvee demonstrated positive results in a head-to-head study against Emergent's market leader, naloxone. Indivior acquired Opvee in 2023 through the purchase of Opiant for $145 million.