Lexicon's (LXRX) Inpefa Gets Preferred Status at Express Scripts
Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals LXRX jumped 12% on Tuesday after the company announced that its heart failure therapy Inpefa (sotagliflozin) will be placed as a preferred product on pharmacy benefits manager (“PBM”) Express Scripts’ Medicare national formularies effective Nov 1, 2023.
Express Scripts will place Inpefa on its Premier Access and Premier Performance national formularies for Medicare patients. As a result of this placement, Express Scripts’ Medicare patients in specific plans will now be able to access Inpefa, thereby expanding the drug’s market reach.
Being a middleman between insurance companies, pharmacies, and drug manufacturers, PBMs like Express Scripts will be able to provide broader access and more comprehensive coverage for drugs placed on their plans as a preferred product.
Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals have lost 41.4% year to date compared with the industry’s 19.3% decline.
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An oral SGLT inhibitor, Lexicon’s Inpefa received FDA approval earlier this year in May to reduce the risk of death and hospitalization in adults with either heart failure or those with type II diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Per Lexicon, Inpefa is one of the three FDA-approved SGLT inhibitors to treat heart failure. The other two SGLT inhibitors are marketed by pharma giants AstraZeneca AZN and Eli Lilly LLY. AstraZeneca markets Farxiga (dapagliflozin), while Lilly markets Jardiance (empagliflozin). Lexicon is likely to face stiff competition from both these companies.
Both AstraZeneca’s Farxiga and Lilly’s Jardiance are blockbuster drugs and directly compete with each other in some indications, one of which is to treat heart failure. In first-half 2023, AstraZeneca generated $2.8 billion from Farxiga sales, a 39% rise from the year-ago period’s levels. Lilly added $1.25 billion from Jardiance sales, up 42% year over year during the same period.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price
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Zacks Rank
Lexicon currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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