Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc.

Greetings and welcome to Global Blood Therapeutics conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the prepared remarks. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Stephen Emmerglut. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, and welcome to GBT's conference call to discuss the company's financial results for the second quarter, 2021, and to provide a business update. I'm Stephen Immergut, Head of Communications and Investor Relations. Joining me on the call are Dr. Ted Love, our President and CEO, will provide an update on our progress in the second quarter. Jeff Farrow, our Chief Financial Officer, will review our financial results. David Johnson, or DJ, our Chief Commercial Officer, We'll give an update on the Oxbride launch. Dr. Kim Smith-Whitley, our executive vice president and head of R&D, will discuss our pipeline. Ted will then give a few closing remarks on the catalysts for GBT's future. Earlier this afternoon, we issued a press release announcing GBT's progress and financial results for the second quarter and to June 30, 2021. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that certain statements we make on this call that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are contained in our SEC filings, including but not limited to our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as in today's press release. Copies of our SEC filings and press releases can be obtained from the Investors page of our company website at GBT.com. The forward-looking statements made on this call are only as of the time they are made, and we should not place undue reliance on such statements. Future events or simply the passage of time may cause our beliefs to change, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements other than as required by law. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ted.

Thank you, Steven, and good afternoon, everyone. In the second quarter, GBT made solid progress on our mission to transform the care of sickle cell disease and improve the lives of patients around the world. The fundamentals of the OxyPride at US launch remain strong, and GBT is setting itself up for long-term success by advancing our regulatory strategies and our robust pipeline. I want to highlight that just recently we announced the initiation of two pivotal phase three clinical trials for Enclaquimab, a P-selectin inhibitor for vaso-occlusive crisis in SCD that we think will be best in class. We also initiated our phase one trial of GBT-601 in sickle cell patients. We remain on track with our goal of delivering proof of concept data for 601 by the end of the year. We're very excited by these developments and our potential to bring further therapeutic innovation to sickle cell disease. Now turning to Oxbrita. We delivered approximately 925 new prescriptions in the quarter, consistent with the range we've seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we anticipated this result, we are not satisfied with it. Looking forward, we are encouraged by several key factors. First, the net number of Uxbreda patients continues to increase each quarter. This is a key driver of delivering on our second quarter revenue expectations. Second, experience in the real-world setting continues to validate the role of Uxbreda as potential foundational therapy for sickle cell disease. A growing body of real well evidence demonstrates improvements in overall clinical status of patients and of key lab values. And third, our latest market research demonstrates high levels of satisfaction among prescribers and patients who have tried Oxypridex. In addition, we are receiving positive feedback on our recently launched educational and marketing programs. And we have several exciting initiatives planned for the rest of the year, including a groundbreaking direct-to-consumer advertising campaign. In the second quarter, the COVID-19 environment began to show signs of gradual improvement for sickle cell patients, as overall vaccination rates increased and restrictions began to lift in many geographies. For sickle cell patients, sentiment towards the vaccine is improving. However, Black Americans still have the lowest rates of vaccination. As we all know, more recently the Delta variant has begun to drive an increase in COVID-19 cases and a return of restrictive guidelines. COVID-19 continues to be a headwind for GBT and the sickle cell community, along with the longstanding health inequalities experienced by our patients. Too often sickle cell disease is characterized as a disease of pain, when it is in fact a disease of multi-organ failure and premature death. Patients are often told they are doing well if they aren't experiencing pain crises. that we know these patients are suffering premature death due to hemolysis. This is a meaningful opportunity to create change, and we are not standing still. We are focused on creating a greater sense of urgency among HCPs treating people with SED, along with other significant gaps in the care of those living with this disease. A few highlights of our actions include We are continuing to educate the healthcare community on the urgent needs of patients with sickle cell disease. We formed a Sickle Cell Disease Health Equity Council with advocacy leaders and other prominent members of the community. This group is working to prioritize actions on systemic issues that impact access to care. In addition, Accel grant program provided approximately $450,000 in funding this year to community-based organizations and institutions for sustainable programs that improve access to high-quality care for sickle cell patients. And in September, we will co-host the 10th annual Sickle Cell Disease Therapeutics Conference with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. bringing together leaders in the community to discuss the latest advances in future trends in SCD. All of these efforts and more are designed to improve health equity for patients with sickle cell disease, including helping them access innovative medicines like Oxprida. With that, I will turn the call over to Jeff to review our second quarter results.