Correction: Zealand Pharma Announces Financial Results for the Full
Year 2024
Company announcement – No. 2 / 2025
Correction includes 2024 Annual Report attached in iXBRL
format.
Zealand Pharma Announces Financial Results for the Full Year
2024
A transformational year with significant clinical advancement
across differentiated obesity pipeline, while building the
foundation for accelerated growth in the years to come
- Positive results
with long-acting amylin analog petrelintide in 16-week Phase 1b
trial and advancement into large, comprehensive Phase 2b trial in
people with overweight or obesity
- Positive topline
results with GLP-1/GLP-2 receptor dual agonist dapiglutide in
13-week Phase 1b trial and expansion of trial to investigate higher
doses over a longer treatment period
- Positive results
with glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist survodutide in Boehringer
Ingelheim Phase 2 trial in MASH and advancement into largest Phase
3 MASH program with an incretin-based therapy
- DKK 8.5 billion
(USD 1.2 billion) secured through two equity raises enabling
significant investments in R&D pipeline and organizational
capabilities
Copenhagen, Denmark, February 20, 2025 - Zealand Pharma
A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078), a biotechnology company
focused on the discovery and development of innovative
peptide-based medicines, today announced financial results for the
year ended December 31, 2024 and provided a corporate update.
Driving innovation in obesity with differentiated mid- to
late-stage pipeline
“2024 was a transformational year for Zealand Pharma with
positive data across our mid- to late-stage obesity pipeline and
significant capital raised to further invest in our pipeline and
the organization, preparing the company for the next phase of
growth,” said Adam Steensberg, President and Chief Executive
Officer at Zealand Pharma. “From this very solid foundation, both
financially and organizationally, we expect accelerated momentum in
2025 with important clinical advancement of our obesity
programs.”
Key financial results for FY 2024
DKK million |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Revenue |
62.7 |
342.8 |
Net operating expenses1 |
-1,327.0 |
-895.9 |
Net operating result |
-1,272.2 |
-572.2 |
Net financial items |
188.8 |
-136.6 |
Cash position2 |
9,022.0 |
1,633.1 |
Notes:
1. Net operating expenses consist of R&D, S&M, G&A and
other operating items.
2. Cash position includes cash, cash equivalents and marketable
securities.
Financial guidance for 2025
The strong cash position enables Zealand Pharma to significantly
accelerate its investments in the company’s wholly-owned obesity
programs, which in 2025 will include three large Phase 2b trials.
Net operating expenses expected in 2025 are mostly driven by
research and development. Development costs primarily relate to the
clinical advancement of the wholly-owned obesity programs,
including Phase 2b trials, CMC activities related to API and Drug
Product, as well as Phase 3 preparations. Research costs are mainly
driven by enhanced investments in next-generation peptide
therapeutics focused on obesity and inflammation.
DKK million
|
2025 Guidance |
2024 Actual |
Revenue anticipated from existing and new license and partnership
agreements |
No guidance |
62.7 |
Net operating expenses3 |
2,000 – 2,500 |
1,327.0 |
Notes:
3. Financial guidance based on foreign exchange rates as of
February 19, 2025.
Highlights of the year and key events anticipated in
2025
Obesity – advancing the differentiated pipeline
- Petrelintide,
a long-acting amylin analog. Zealand Pharma reported positive
results from the 16-week Phase 1b trial with petrelintide and
presented the data at the Obesity Society Annual Meeting
(ObesityWeek). In December 2024, the company subsequently initiated
ZUPREME-1, a large, comprehensive Phase 2b trial in people with
overweight or obesity and anticipates completion of participant
enrolment in the first half of 2025. The company also expects to
expand the development program of petrelintide by initiating
ZUPREME-2, a Phase 2b trial in people with overweight or obesity
and type 2 diabetes in the first half of 2025.
- Dapiglutide, a
first-in-class GLP-1/GLP-2 receptor dual agonist. Zealand
Pharma reported positive topline results from the 13-week Phase 1b
trial with dapiglutide, providing support for advancing this
candidate into a large Phase 2b trial in people with overweight or
obesity, which is planned for initiation in the first half of 2025.
The company also expanded the Phase 1b trial to evaluate higher
doses of dapiglutide over a longer treatment period, with topline
results from this part of the trial expected in the first half of
2025.
- Survodutide, a
glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist. Boehringer Ingelheim
reported positive results from the Phase 2 trial with survodutide
in MASH, presented the data at the European Association for the
Study of the Liver (EASL), and received a Breakthrough Therapy
Designation from the U.S. FDA. Boehringer Ingelheim subsequently
initiated two large registrational Phase 3 trials with survodutide
in people with MASH; LIVERAGE™ in people with moderate or advanced
liver fibrosis (stages 2 or 3) and LIVERAGE™-Cirrhosis in people
with compensated cirrhosis (fibrosis stage 4). In 2024, Boehringer
Ingelheim also completed participant enrolment for SYNCHRONIZE™-1
and SYNCHRONIZE™-2, the Phase 3 clinical trials of survodutide in
people with overweight or obesity without and with type 2 diabetes,
respectively.
Rare diseases – long-term commitment to patients with CHI and
SBS
- Dasiglucagon
in congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI). Zealand Pharma is prepared
to resubmit the New Drug Application (NDA) for three weeks of
dosing to the U.S. FDA contingent on the third-party manufacturing
facility receiving an inspection classification upgrade.
Subsequently, Zealand Pharma also expects to submit the required
and detailed analyses from existing continuous glucose monitoring
datasets to support the use of dasiglucagon beyond three
weeks.
- Glepaglutide
in short bowel syndrome (SBS). In December 2024, Zealand Pharma
received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) for the NDA for
glepaglutide, a long-acting GLP-2 analog under development for the
treatment of adults with SBS with intestinal failure. In 2025, the
company expects to initiate a single placebo-controlled Phase 3
trial (EASE-5) to provide further confirmatory evidence for a
regulatory submission in the U.S. and to support regulatory
submissions for glepaglutide in geographies outside the U.S. and
the EU. In parallel, Zealand Pharma anticipates proceeding with
current plans to submit a Marketing Authorization Application to
support EU approval.
Chronic inflammation – progressing the pipeline
- ZP9830, Kv1.3
ion channel blocker. Zealand Pharma initiated the
first-in-human clinical trial with ZP9830, a Kv.1.3 ion channel
blocker in late 2024 and anticipates completing this trial in 2025.
The company believes this candidate holds potential to treat a
broad range of cell-mediated autoimmune diseases.
Sustainability – building a sustainable organization
- In 2024, Zealand
Pharma launched a refined sustainability strategy and developed a
Climate Change Transition Plan, outlining activities and targets
for climate change mitigation. The company will further accelerate
its sustainability efforts in 2025, with key focus areas including
the expected submission of the Climate Change Transition Plan to
the Science Based Targets Initiative and continued preparations for
the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
- Zealand Pharma
achieved notable organizational growth in 2024 with a 30% increase
in the number of employees compared to 2023. Yet, the company
maintained its high employee engagement score of 8.8/10 and
decreased the employee turnover rate from 10.3% in 2023 to 7.3% in
2024.
Conference call today at 2 PM CET / 8 AM ET
Zealand Pharma’s management will host a conference call today
February 20 at 2:00 PM CET / 8:00 AM ET to present results for the
full year 2024 followed by a Q&A session. Participating in the
call will be Chief Executive Officer, Adam Steensberg; Chief
Financial Officer, Henriette Wennicke; Chief Medical Officer, David
Kendall; and Chief Commercial Officer, Eric Cox. The conference
call will be conducted in English.
The live listen-only audio webcast of the call and accompanying
slide presentation will be accessible
at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/96nk8pep. To receive
telephone dial-in information and a unique personal access PIN,
please register
at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI735075144114493ead489441f1d0740f.
Participants are advised to register for the call or webcast
approximately 10 minutes before the start. A recording of the event
will be available following the call on the Investor section of
Zealand Pharma’s website
at https://www.zealandpharma.com/investors/events-presentations/.
About Zealand Pharma
Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) is a biotechnology company
focused on the discovery and development of peptide-based
medicines. More than 10 drug candidates invented by Zealand Pharma
have advanced into clinical development, of which two have reached
the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The
company has development partnerships with a number of pharma
companies as well as commercial partnerships for its marketed
products.
Zealand Pharma was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in
Copenhagen, Denmark, with a presence in the U.S. For more
information about Zealand Pharma’s business and activities, please
visit www.zealandpharma.com.
Forward looking statements
This company announcement contains “forward-looking statements”,
as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 in the United States, as amended, even though no longer
listed in the United States this is used as a definition to provide
Zealand Pharma’s expectations or forecasts of future events
regarding the research, development, and commercialization of
pharmaceutical products, the timing of the company’s clinical
trials and the reporting of data therefrom. These forward-looking
statements may be identified by words such as “aim,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,”
“intend,” “may,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “will,” “would”,
and other words and terms of similar meaning. You should not place
undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data
presented. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are
subject to risks, uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions, which
may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations set
forth herein and may cause any or all of such forward-looking
statements to be incorrect, and which include, but are not limited
to, unexpected costs or delays in clinical trials and other
development activities due to adverse safety events or otherwise;
unexpected concerns that may arise from additional data, analysis
or results obtained during clinical trials; our ability to
successfully market both new and existing products; changes in
reimbursement rules and governmental laws and related
interpretation thereof; government-mandated or market-driven price
decreases for our products; introduction of competing products;
production problems; unexpected growth in costs and expenses; our
ability to effect the strategic reorganization of our businesses in
the manner planned; failure to protect and enforce our data,
intellectual property and other proprietary rights and
uncertainties relating to intellectual property claims and
challenges; regulatory authorities may require additional
information or further studies, or may reject, fail to approve or
may delay approval of our drug candidates or expansion of product
labelling; failure to obtain regulatory approvals in other
jurisdictions; exposure to product liability and other claims;
interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; unexpected
contract breaches or terminations; inflationary pressures on the
global economy; and political uncertainty, including due to the
ongoing military conflict in Ukraine. If any or all of such
forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, our actual
results could differ materially and adversely from those
anticipated or implied by such statements. The foregoing sets forth
many, but not all, of the factors that could cause actual results
to differ from our expectations in any forward-looking statement.
All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of
this press release/company announcement and are based on
information available to Zealand Pharma as of the date of this
release/announcement. We do not undertake to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that
occur after the date hereof. Information concerning pharmaceuticals
(including compounds under development) contained within this
material is not intended as advertising or medical advice.
Contacts
Anna Krassowska, PhD (Investors and Media)
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate
Communications
Zealand Pharma
Email: akrassowska@zealandpharma.com
Adam Lange (Investors)
Investor Relations Officer
Zealand Pharma
Email: alange@zealandpharma.com
Neshat Anis Ahmadi (Investors)
Investor Relations Manager
Zealand Pharma
Email: neahmadi@zealandpharma.com
- Zealand Pharma 2024 Annual Report
- zealandpharma-2024-12-31-en
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