Indivior shares plummet on profit warning, product discontinuation

Pharma group Indivior saw shares plummet on Tuesday after it issued a profit warning for 2024 on the back of "adverse market dynamics" affecting its Sublocade treatment, and announced it was discontinuing its Perseris product.

Indivior said it expects to generate $1,150-1,215m in revenues for 2024, down from earlier guidance of $1,240-1,330m, with adjusted operating profits pencilled in at $285-320m, compared with previous projections of $330-380m.

Shares were down 28% at 845.01p in early deals in London.

The downgrade was mainly due to lower expected sales of Sublocade, its treatment of moderate to severe opioid use disorder.

"Despite positive early performance trends at the start of the second quarter, Sublocade net revenue has continued to be impacted more than we expected by a combination of transitory factors, primarily the elimination of COVID emergency measures related to automatic Medicaid coverage renewals," explained chief executive Mark Crossley.

"Furthermore, as we look to the second half of the year, the U.S. government has extended renewal allowances for certain States which will further delay the annualisation of this significant headwind."

Meanwhile, the company said it was discontinuing the sales and marketing of Perseris, previously expected to generated $55-65m in sales this year, which it said was in the "best interests of shareholders due to the highly competitive market and impending changes that are expected to intensify payor management in the treatment category".

Indivior said that an analysis of forthcoming changes in the market suggests that "there is no longer a path forward for Perseris that is financially viable". The company will continue to supply the product for the foreseeable future to avoid disruption to patient care but will no longer deploy a dedicated sales force, which will result in 130 job losses. The company will book a charge of $65m from these changes.

Indivior also revealed it was paying $85m to settle antitrust claims ahead of an expected trial date on 15 July – bringing an end to litigation that has been pending since 2020.