Indivior PLC (LSE:INDV) shares dropped over 16% after the drug company warned that sales of its Sublocade long-lasting opioid addiction treatment had been hit by a rise in rival generic versions.
Management of the group now sees lower than expected revenue from Sublocade in the third quarter and full year from a combination of faster initial adoption of a competitor's rival long-acting injectable treatment, as well as other factors.
Chief executive Mark Crossley said: "We are seeing faster than expected initial adoption of the competitive product to SUBLOCADE. This dynamic, together with greater variability in the timing of funding among Criminal Justice System customers, as well as incremental trade stocking pressure, has resulted in net revenue below our expectations set out in July."
Preliminary quarterly sales were seen coming in at $187-192 million, with the full-year net revenue revised to $725-745 million, up 17% at the midpoint versus last year.
There was no change to expectations for peak Sublocade revenues of at least $1.5 billion, though directors no longer expect a run rate of $1 billion as we move into 2025.
Crossley said this was based on market analysis since the competitor's launch a year ago, where despite faster than expected initial adoption "market data is consistently showing that Sublocade's share is stabilizing at levels demonstrating its leading position in the clinic".