PRINCETON, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2023 / On August 9, Agile Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AGRX) released its second-quarter financial results, showing significant growth in revenue from its innovative weekly birth control patch, Twirla® (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol), and a widening gross margin thanks to net revenue growth and decreasing operating expenses. "We set single-quarter record highs in demand, net revenue and factory sales, all while reporting another quarterly decrease in operating expenses," Agile Chairperson and CEO Al Altomari said in a statement on the company's second-quarter earnings. Here are the key highlights from the latest earnings release.
Agile's Second Quarter Earnings Show The Results Of Ongoing Efforts To Increase Access To Twirla
Net revenue from Twirla reached $5.5 million in the second quarter, representing a 44% increase over the previous quarter and a 159% increase over the $2.1 million in net revenue reported for Q2 2022. That triple-digit revenue growth was driven largely by the substantial increase in demand for the weekly birth control patch, which rose 158% year over year. Meanwhile, Twirla factory sales were up 42% from the previous quarter and 188% year over year.
Since receiving FDA approval for Twirla in 2020, demand has been steadily growing for the weekly birth control patch. The birth control delivers a combination of estrogen and progestin via a transdermal patch that can be applied directly to the skin. Instead of a pill that needs to be taken at the same time every day, Twirla users just have to swap out their patches once a week. The convenient and flexible birth control alternative is an important option for women who want a reversible contraceptive method without having to worry as much about taking a daily pill.
The increase in revenue coming from the growing demand for the weekly patch combined with a 2% drop in operating expenses helped widen Agile's gross margin from 47% in the first quarter to 58% in Q2. The company seems to have been effectively managing its operating expenses. Through the first six months of 2023 vs. the first six months of 2022, Agile's operating expenses decreased 38%, from $27.1 million to $16.8 million.
Agile Focuses On Expanding Access To Twirla Via Strategic Partnerships
Building on its momentum over the first half of the year, Agile plans to continue working on driving further revenue growth in the second half in both retail and non-retail channels. On the retail side, the company's marketing efforts are selectively targeting consumers in California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois. These five states are home to an estimated 45% of the nation's young adult women ages 18-24 and have favorable reimbursement profiles.
It's also working to increase retail sales through its collaborations with Nurx, Pandia and Twentyeight Health. These partnerships with women's telehealth providers make it possible for women to get a Twirla prescription online through one of these platforms and have the weekly birth control patch delivered right to their homes.
On the non-retail side, Agile is seeing revenue growth and increased adoption through its partnership with Afaxys, a leading strategic sourcing operation that provides affordable reproductive health products to healthcare providers.
That partnership has made the birth control patch available to Planned Parenthood clinics and community health centers around the country and helped drive a 38% increase in non-retail demand in Agile's second quarter. It's also given healthcare providers a chance to gain more clinical experience with Twirla which, in turn, could make them feel more comfortable prescribing the patch to patients in their private practices.
Based on its strong performance for this last quarter, the women's healthcare company reaffirmed its net annual revenue target of $25 to $30 million for 2023.
Featured photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash.
Contact:
Matt Riley- Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
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SOURCE: Agile Therapeutics, Inc.