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spk09: Good afternoon. My name is Emma, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Halo Zyme first quarter 2022 financial results conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, again, press the star one. Thank you. Dawn Shotland, you may begin your conference.
spk08: Good afternoon and welcome to our first quarter 2022 financial results conference call. In addition to our press release issues today after the close, you can find a supplementary slide presentation that will be referenced during today's call in the investor relations section of our website. Leading the call will be Dr. Helen Torley, Taylor's Arms President and Chief Executive Officer, who will provide an update on our business, and Nicole Labrosse, our Chief Financial Officer, who will review our financial results for the first quarter. On today's call, both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed. The non-GAAP or adjusted financial measures are reconciled with the comparable GAAP financial measures in our earnings press release and slide presentation. During the call, we'll be making forward-looking statements. I refer you to our SEC filings for a full listing of the risks and uncertainties. I'll now turn the call over to our CEO, Helen Torley.
spk07: Thank you, Dawn. 2022 is also a very strong start for Halazine from both an operational and a capital allocation standpoint. In April, we announced our planned acquisition of Antares Pharma, which is on track to close in the second quarter. This acquisition strengthens Halazam's position as an industry leader in drug delivery and provides revenue growth and diversification. Halazam and Antares also share a common culture built around the same mission, innovating to improve the lives of patients. We look forward to building an even stronger company together with our Antares colleagues and are excited about the greater impact we will continue to drive for patients, customers, and shareholders. Nicole and her finance team have secured financing to support the acquisition with access to very favorable debt structure. She will provide more color around that during her remarks. As we progress to the completion of the Ontario's acquisition, we've continued our demonstration of executional excellence and delivered on the key first quarter milestones. Shown in slide three are SELAZAN's strategic and capital allocation priorities. These are to invest to maximize enhanced revenue growth and durability, to continue to return capital to our shareholders, and to grow through M&A. Notably, we're making strong progress on each of these. I'll start by reviewing our Q1 operational performance. I'm pleased to report that our first quarter results provided a strong start to 2022 for Helizine. We reported first quarter revenues of $117.3 million, a 32% year-over-year increase, resulting in GAAP Q1 2022 earnings per share of 43 cents and non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share of 47 cents. This performance is driven by strong enhanced royalty revenue growth and the booking of a milestone payment associated with the signing of what is our 12th enhanced collaboration agreement with Shugai Pharmaceutical. As I will also highlight, we continue to see strong momentum in our enhanced development portfolio. Turning now to slide four, in the first quarter, we had record quarterly royalties of $69.6 million, representing 89% growth over first quarter 2021 and 11% sequential growth. This growth continues to be driven primarily by the successful ongoing global launch of Janssen's subcutaneous forms of Darzalex and also by Roche's Fezgo. Based on the strong momentum, we predict continued royalty revenue growth in 2022 with growth of approximately 50% to approximately $300 million. We're delighted with the continued robust growth of this high margin recurring revenue stream. Turning now to slide five, I'll now provide highlights of our key commercialized products that are contributing to the strong royalty revenues. We currently have five partner products commercialized in approximately 100 global markets that are using the enhanced drug delivery technology. It's estimated that these products have been used to treat more than 600,000 patients globally. Our Wave 2 products, Janssen's Darzalex SubQ and FastPro, and Roche's Fezgo, are the current royalty revenue growth drivers and continue to have substantial growth opportunities ahead for each of them. I'll provide additional color on each of these in a moment. Moving now to the Wave 1 products, Roche continues with its global commercialization of Mapthera SC, which is also called Rituxan Hycella, and subcutaneous Herceptin or Herceptin-Hylecta. We project continued decline in royalties from these mature products as a result of the ongoing impact related by similar competition to the IV products. Let me now provide some additional details on the Wave 2 products, beginning with Darzalex, shown on slide 6. During the first quarter of 2022, Janssen's parent, Johnson & Johnson, reported worldwide sales of Darzalex, including both the IV and subcutaneous forms, of $1,856,000,000, which was up 40.3% year over year on an operational basis. This strong operational growth was driven primarily by subcutaneous formulation penetration and meaningful share grains across all lines of therapy and in all regions. As illustrated on the slide, Daratumumab sub-Q share continued to grow in the U.S. during the first quarter. with 80% end-of-quarter share being attributed to Darzalex FastPro, the sub-Q version, based on Symphony data. This is an increase from 76% share in December of 2021. Moving to the second of our wave two products, our partner Roche reported during the first quarter 2022 that Fezgo, one of their newly approved products, is helping to drive growth by providing patients with a new delivery option that decreases the overall administration and monitoring time from patients from two to eight hours to just 20 to 40 minutes. Sales for the quarter were 146 million Swiss francs, up 410% from a year ago. We continue to expect strong quarter over quarter growth of Fesgo as a result of the ongoing launches in Europe and rest of world as reimbursement is attained and through continued penetration and oncology accounts in the United States. Moving to slide seven, here we illustrate how the non-risk adjusted royalty revenues are projected to grow over time, driven by multiple new launches that we project will add royalty revenues incremental to those resulting from the Wave 1 and 2 products that we just discussed. These new potential launches form at three additional waves, which we call Wave 3, 4, and 5. And as a brief reminder, the Wave 3 products are currently in or have completed Phase 3 studies and have the potential to launch between 2023 and 2025. Wave 4 is comprised of the 11 products that are currently in Phase 1 development, which, if they continue in development, have the potential to launch between 2025 and 2027. And Wave 5 will be comprised of products entering the clinic later this year and in the years to come. This quarter, we saw important progress advancing Waves 3 and 4. This included the announcement by Ergenix that ADAPT-SC, the pivotal study of SCF corticimod and generalized myasthenia gravis, had met its primary endpoint. Roche initiating a Phase III study of subcutaneous ocrevis with Enhance, and Veve initiating their second Phase I study, this time evaluating Enhance with N6LS, which is a broadly neutralizing antibody being evaluated for the treatment and prevention of HIV. Each of these advances brings us closer to potential new royalty revenues. Let me now provide some more details on F-cortegemod. F-Cartigimod, as an IV administration, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December of 2021 for the treatment of adult patients with generalized myosinia gravis. And just last week, Argenix announced positive results in its Phase III Advanced Study, which is evaluating F-Cartigimod IV for the treatment of adult patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. We congratulate Argenix on this terrific news. Provided in slide eight is a summary of the results of the ADAPT-SC study, which is evaluating of F-critizumab with enhanced in myasthenia gravis. And this is the most advanced of five indications that are currently being evaluated as sub-Q administration with enhanced. The ADAPT-SC study met its primary endpoint, demonstrating non-inferior total IgG reduction at day 29 with subcutaneously administered F-critizumab compared to intravenous administration. Based on these results, Argenix has stated it plans to submit a biologic license application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2022. EFCA-TIJMOD Subcutaneous is on track to be the first of our Wave 3 potential partner launches, which are launches that we project will occur between 2023 and 2025, with the potential approval for EFCA-TIJMOD SubQ anticipated in 2023. Let me move now to slide nine and the discussion of the enhanced development portfolio. It is our goal to continuously expand the number of products that are in development and to advance products to later stages of development and launch. As in many cases, this is associated with milestone revenue payments to Helizine. I'll begin with an overview of the enhanced partner product pipeline as of May 2022. We now have four products in phase three development. These are shown at the bottom of the slide and include Argenix's Efkartizumab in multiple indications, BMS's Nivolumab, Roche's Atezolizumab, and I'm pleased to announce that the phase three study of Roche's Ocrevus as a subcutaneous delivery has now also started. We consider Efkartizumab, Nivolumab, and Atezolizumab as our wave three launch products with the potential to launch between 2023 and 2025. Ocrevus is the first of our wave four potential launch products which recall have the potential to launch in the 2025 to 2027 timeframe. All four of these products are currently approved as IV drugs. Analysts project that the total revenue potential for both the IV and subcutaneous formulations for this set of potential launches will exceed $20 billion in 2025. And what will be key for Halozyme is going to be the pace of the conversion from IV to sub-Q and the peak conversion share attained. Moving to the top of the slide, We currently have 11 products that are in or have completed Phase 1 clinical testing. Here, I'm also pleased to report that during the quarter, our enhanced partner, Veve, initiated a Phase 1 study to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of N6LS, administered subcutaneously with the enhanced technology. N6LS is a broadly neutralizing antibody for the treatment and prevention of HIV. These phase one products, should they proceed in development, will also be our wave four potential launches. And as you will note, they include a number of already commercialized and successful drugs and cover a range of therapeutic areas and diseases. Looking ahead for 2022, we continue to expect further pipeline progress and expansion and continue to project at least five new phase two or phase three trial starts for existing enhanced partner programs and four new products entering the clinic this year. Let me now move to slide 10. As we continue to drive long-term, durable growth, I'm also delighted that we announced a new collaboration and licensing agreement with Shigai Pharmaceutical, R12, further strengthening our royalty business and validating Halazime as a partner of choice for patient-convenient subcutaneous drug delivery. As an illustration, based on historical development timelines for enhanced products, a product entering development in 2023 would have the potential to launch post-2027, adding revenue and growth as part of our wave five. Moving now to slide 11, our pipeline and New Deal progress have driven strong milestone revenues for Halazem historically, and we project this growth will continue and remain a key contributor to our capital allocation progress. As you can note, we have met or are on track to meet the prior three-year milestone revenue guidance ranges. For the three-year period of 2022 to 2024, we expect to increase milestones again to $450 million to $500 million in total milestones, resulting from a mix of development, commercial, and new agreement milestones. Let me now move to say a few words regarding Intari's acquisition. Just a month ago, we announced our agreement to acquire Intari's Pharma, whose business consists of a best-in-class, differentiated royalty-revenue-generating auto-injector platform that offers new licensing opportunities and a growing commercial business with three proprietary products. As shown in slide 12, this transaction is fully aligned with our previously announced capital allocation priorities for 2022. These priorities are to invest to maximize our enhanced revenue growth and durability, to continue to return capital to our shareholders through share repurchases, and at the center of the slide to seek to acquire a platform technology where Halazan can operationalize it and create additional value while also adding to and further extending our revenue durability. Antares is the perfect partner for this and fulfills each of our business development criteria. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Halazan's 2022 revenue and non-GAAP earnings and to accelerate top and bottom line growth through 2027 with multiple growth drivers beyond 2027. We expect to build on Ontario's core auto-injector platform technology and capabilities to drive incremental, durable revenue opportunities with additional intellectual property protections for Ontario's technology in place beyond 2030. In 2027 and beyond, we expect Ontario's multiple growth drivers will be highly additive, coming in the form of its growing testosterone replacement product business, revenues from partner products, and new partnerships with companies seeking subcutaneous administration for both small and large molecule products. Moving to slide 13, the combined company further extends our leadership and position as a partner of choice for patient-convenient subcutaneous treatment delivery. We believe that Antares' autoinjector technology is complementary to our enhanced technology. potentially allowing the injection of larger volumes of certain drugs subcutaneously or to deliver faster injections. Antares' successful development and partnership of its technology platforms offers a widely licensable product suite that can be broadly applied across a spectrum of market segments. We're very much looking forward to welcoming the Antares team to Helizine and leveraging our joint expertise to unlock new subcutaneous drug delivery opportunities that have the potential to help patients globally. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Nicole for a discussion of our first quarter financial results.
spk10: Nicole?
spk12: Thank you, Helen. I'll start on slide 14, where I'll focus on some highlights from our first quarter results. Total revenue for the first quarter was $117.3 million, compared to $89 million in the prior year period. The year-over-year increase of 32% was primarily driven by an increase in royalty revenue. partially offset by a modest decrease in revenues under collaborative agreements. Loyalty revenue for the quarter was $69.6 million, an increase of 89% compared to $36.9 million in the prior year period. This was driven primarily by the continued strong uptake of Janssen's subcutaneous Darzalex, utilizing Enhance. Cost of product sales for the first quarter was $15.9 million, compared to $18.2 million in the prior year period. The year over year decrease, despite an increase in product sales, was primarily driven by the timing of manufacturing overhead costs in the prior year. Operating income was $75.7 million, compared to $50.7 million in the prior year period. The year over year increase of 49% is driven by growth of recurring royalties in our leverageable business model. which allows us to grow revenue with minimal investments in operating expenses. On a gap basis, diluted earnings per share was 43 cents, compared with 19 cents in the prior year period. On a non-gap basis, diluted earnings per share was 47 cents, compared with 37 cents in the prior year period. When comparing to the prior year, it's important to note that the first quarter of 2022 is our first period recording income tax expense. representing 10 cents per share. Now let me turn to slide 15 for a review of our 2022 financial guidance, which is Halosign's standalone guidance. This guidance remains unchanged from what we provided at the beginning of the year and does not include any contributions from Interis. We plan to provide updated guidance, including Interis, at a quarterly call after the transaction closes and the two companies are combined. For the full year 2022, we continue to expect total revenues of $530 to $560 million, representing growth of 20 to 26% over 2021 total revenue. In terms of the components of our revenue, we expect revenue from royalties to increase approximately 50% over revenues from royalties in 2021 to approximately $300 million. Product sales and collaborative revenues in total for 2022 are expected to be at similar levels to what we achieved in 2021, with API being balanced throughout the year and milestones substantially more weighted in the second half of the year, based on our expected timing for partner milestone-bearing events. We expect operating income of 350 to 380 million dollars. representing growth of 27% to 38% over 2021 operating income. This includes an incremental $20 million operating expense investment to maximize, enhance, and extend loyalty revenue durability. Even with this important investment, we expect operating margins of greater than 65%. Moving now to slide 16 in a summary of our capital allocation priorities. We have been consistent regarding our balanced capital allocation priorities, which put us in an advantageous position to acquire impurities using a mix of cash and debt while remaining committed to our plans of capital return to shareholders. Our balance sheet remains strong with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $786.1 million on March 31, 2022. compared to $740.9 million on December 31, 2021, further strengthening our financial position as we prepare to close the interiors transaction. We are able to access low-cost pro rata bank debt to finance the transaction and are pleased with the demand in the market in favorable terms of this non-diluted financing. As we stated, we expect to maintain a strong balance sheet with approximately 3.3 times net debt to EBITDA ratio at the projected time of close, with a significant decline expected in the quarters following the close. While we will maintain a focus on deleveraging, we will also continue to execute on our previously announced three-year, $750 million share repurchase program, inclusive of $150 million accelerated share repurchase program, initiated in December 2021. We continue to plan for up to an additional $100 million in share repurchases in 2022, dependent on market conditions and other factors. With that, I'll now turn the call back to Helen.
spk07: Thank you, Nicole. I'd like to close by thanking our Halazan team, our partners, and all of our collaborators for the hard work that resulted in the strong performance this quarter. In 2022, we will continue to deliver growing revenues, growing operating income, and expanding our pipeline, resulting in both strong near-term and long-term growth. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us today, and with that, we'd now be delighted to take your questions. Operator, please would you open the call for questions?
spk09: At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. Your first question today comes from the line of Charles Duncan with Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is now open.
spk05: Hey, good afternoon, Helen and Nicole. Thanks for taking our question, and congratulations on a good quarter of progress. Thank you. Yeah, so I had a couple of questions. One is on Darzalex SC. In terms of, I think I heard you say that 80% SC conversion now, and I guess that's pretty high. That's actually higher than we had anticipated. Where do you think that can go, and what would be the reason anyone would not convert over to the SC version?
spk07: Yeah, thanks, Jess, for that. So, yes, we did find that at the end of the first quarter in the United States, the conversion was about 80% share. Now, we do think that will go higher. And to be very specific about the reasons why people wouldn't convert, there are a small number of patients we hear about anecdotally who may have natal phobia or may be comfortable being in the infusion suite because of the social aspect of that. But I would say we do see the opportunity to continually grow share in the United States and importantly, outside the US as well. Janssen has not provided any updates on that since the middle of last year when we knew it was lagging the US a bit. So expect continued growth throughout this year as we had projected. It's going to be driven by continued share grains outside the US, but also the US as well. And I'll just comment that we're very pleased to see the overall growth of the brand, Charles, because If you recall what we talked about in January, we've got the overall brand growing as well as SC share growing, which is why we get such confidence and conviction in the continued growth for some time to come.
spk05: Okay, that's helpful. And then I wanted to ask you, Helen, regarding Wave 3. I'm particularly interested in F. cartigimand in generalized myasthenia gravis. Congrats on the recent data there. But I guess I'm wondering if you could share with us your perspective of the value proposition, especially as it may relate to the potential pace and ultimate peak of conversion for that drug from the IV.
spk07: Yeah, so absolutely. We were very pleased, as we said in the prepared remarks, to see the positive data. for subqf cardigimod and importantly um for anyone who was listening argenix also reported that the launch of the iv is off to a very strong start and this obviously is a new mechanism of action offering new hope for patients so um all very good to see the iv taking off well the subq data um is expected to be filed by the end of this year so we're looking at a 2023 launch and in terms of the value proposition for for patients the sc does offer the opportunity for a quick, non-complex subcutaneous injection as opposed to a more lengthy IV. And we do know based on Argenix's comments in their clinical studies for patients who received both IV and sub-Q, 70% of patients expressed the preference for the sub-Q. And so this is one test where we do see many dynamics that are going to be similar to what we observed with Darzalex. We see a company that is very motivated to have high success in the market in what is going to be a growingly competitive environment. And we see an office setting where the physicians are very comfortable and used to giving sub-Q drugs, perhaps more so than IV. And we see a strong value proposition for patients. So we don't give specific guidance as to what we think the conversion rate is, but everything is. does support the unmet need, and I think the excitement of patients to be using a sub-Q in generalized myasthenia gravis, and specifically F-cartesian mode, given the convenience of the once-weekly regimen.
spk05: Very good. Could be a neurology game-changer. Thanks for taking my questions.
spk07: Thank you.
spk09: Your next question comes from the line of Mike DeFiore with Evercore. Your line is now open.
spk03: Hi, guys. Thanks so much for taking my questions. Two for me. One on FezGo, the ex-U.S. launch of FezGo. If you could provide more color on the actual cadence of EU reimbursement, will it be lumpy throughout the rest of the year or evenly distributed? And also, if there's any additional gating factors in the U.S. for continued growth, and I have a follow-up.
spk07: All right. For the ex-US launches, Mike, as I'm sure you may be hearing from other companies, while it used to be that you could consider that the top five or six companies would all get reimbursement within 12 months, we do know that that is sometimes taking up to 24 months. And so Roche has not provided specific comments on that, but we can say that we know that some of the traditionally larger European markets have not yet launched. And so that is taking up to two years. So that is why we're excited about the continued growth in Europe, strong performance so far, but with some of the more traditional major markets yet to come. And for the United States, we do predict, and this is based on conversations with Roche as well, continued penetration into accounts and new accounts coming on board. So this is a question of them gradually growing throughout the year and adding to the quarter and quarter growth that we have projected for the year.
spk03: Okay. Very helpful. Thank you. And my final question is regarding the tariff acquisition. You may not be able to comment on this, but I'm not sure if this was commented on during the actual deal call, but Taris has some three very early assets, 1901, 1902, and 1903. Do you guys intend to develop those and thereby incurring more R&D expense, or will those be something that you divest? Any color along those lines would be helpful.
spk07: Yeah, thank you. And, you know, Mike, what I will say is I'm very pleased with the progress we're making on our integration. Obviously, before the acquisition, we did diligence. We're continuing in integration work streams. And the R&D programs is certainly an area where we are digging in and seeking to understand. So no decisions made on that. And we look forward to continuing to work with Terry's colleagues post-close on really making sure we have a full understanding of that. I will say one differentiation here is the R&D expenses. Obviously, these programs tend to follow ANDA or 505 pathways, which are a lot less costly and a lot faster than traditional drug development. So that obviously is something we're very much going to be taking into consideration as we look at each of these opportunities and look at the potential return for investment that would exist with these areas. each of which is in an interesting area of unmet need, but no decisions as yet.
spk03: Great. Thank you very much. Very helpful. Thank you.
spk09: Your next question comes from the line of Corinne Jenkins with Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open.
spk06: Good afternoon, everybody. So obviously, the plasma conversion has been quite high, and I think probably surprised a lot of people from the outside. But as we think about the next launch with Escar-Tigamod, what are some of the factors that we should keep in mind when thinking about potential conversions there? And what has your market research revealed about the appetite to use the subcutaneous injection in that market versus some of the others we've seen you bring the enhanced co-formulation products to bear?
spk07: Yeah, thank you. And I'll refer back to comments I made earlier in the year where we do see a lot of similarities between the F-cortisumab opportunity and the Darzalex opportunity. And specifically, we think some of the drivers of Darzalex that are present with F-cortisumab are F-cortisumab is a very important product, obviously, for our organics who are looking to be successful. It's an area where there are additional competition today, but competition coming into the market, both in form of C5s and also FCRN products. So having a winning strategy with the most convenient type of therapy possible, I think is going to be a very important factor. Corinne, we've not done any detailed market research ourselves, but we can cite some Comments that Ergenix has made on their calls to say that in their clinical study where patients received both IV and sub-Q, 70% of patients expressed a preference for the sub-Q after receiving both forms of therapy. So with all of these factors and the fact that the treatment here is happening in immunologist offices, rheumatologist offices, who are not set up necessarily for IV therapy. So this is a setting that is very conducive, we believe, to sub-Q drug delivery. We think all of those factors speaks very well to a robust uptake. And I'll just finish on the patients. You can imagine for a patient with chronic disease, the ability to have a simple short sub-Q injection delivered versus long IV infusions, IVs, et cetera, we think there's a strong winning patient preference here as well.
spk06: Great. Thank you. That's helpful. And then just with respect to completing that Antares acquisition, can you just help us understand what steps remain to complete that deal? I think you've said in the second half or the first half this year.
spk07: Yes. This, this, That includes the tender offer completion and also the regulatory reviews, Corinne. So everything is progressing at this point in time, and we can say that based on the completion of the conditions as well as regulatory reviews, the earliest time the transaction could close would be the 24th. But we've got to wait for those two areas I just mentioned to be satisfactorily completed before we can close.
spk10: Wonderful. Thank you.
spk09: Your next question comes from the line of Jessica Fye with JPM Chase. Your line is now open.
spk00: Hey, guys. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Could sub-QF Cartesian Mod be a candidate for auto-injector delivery? And how much work would be required if so? What about for the HIV drugs with Janssen and Viv? And then lastly, following the Ontario's close, recognizing that you've kind of provided some commentary about Share Repo this year. I guess thinking in 23 and beyond, how will you prioritize paying down debt after the acquisition versus returning cash to shareholders via Share Repo?
spk10: All right.
spk07: Let me take the alternate debtor questions, and then I'll pass it to Nicole for the question on the paying down of the debt. Yes, we obviously, once the transaction is closed, do plan to engage with all of our partners to take a look at their portfolios and see if there might be a match for the auto-injector. I think the most important thing is going to be the volume of injection. Immediately upon the close, we would have access to a 1ml and a 2.25ml auto-injector. But as we stated when we announced the transaction, we're very excited about the potential to be developing a 5ml auto-injector. So premature to comment specifically on any products that are currently in the portfolio, but we certainly, in doing this transaction, see the opportunity for both biologics and for small molecules that can be delivered in a volume of up to 5 mL.
spk10: So there is a lot of opportunity out there, we believe. And I'm happy to cover your second question, Jessica.
spk11: So in regards to our capital allocation priorities, they do remain unchanged. So we do project availability to continue on all of our objectives here. And we are projecting to be able to address both our share repurchase plans, which are inclusive of the three-year plan that we announced at the end of last year to purchase $750 million of which $150 million is in progress via an ASR at the moment. But we are still on track with those plans. And as well as, you know, we mentioned that we do plan to quickly deleverage the debt we're taking for the interiors acquisition as well in the coming quarters, just, again, driven by our really strong cash flow projections.
spk10: Great. Thank you.
spk09: Your next question comes from the line of Anita Duchenne with Barenberg Capital Markets. Your line is now open.
spk01: Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. Can I ask you about, you know, the guidance you've provided now? Obviously, you know, does not include the assets from interest, but post-closing in the first half, would that be updated towards the second half of the year?
spk07: Yes, it is our intention to, after the close, the next earnings call to provide an update on guidance.
spk01: Okay, great. And also, regarding your partnerships, I mean, historically, Hello has signed on one partnership at least annually with the pharma players. So going forward, would there be a preference or towards, you know, signing on partnerships using enhanced or auto-injector or you kind of remain agnostic?
spk07: It's a great question. And I do think what is exciting for us now is that we have the opportunity. I see three buckets and segments that we're going to seek to address post-close. That would be enhanced only. Auto-injector only at small volume, and enhanced plus octo-injector probably at the 2.25 and 5 ml. And that really is how we were looking at the opportunity as we assessed the Antares. So we see all three areas where Halazine may have the potential to create new deals.
spk10: Great. Thank you.
spk09: Your last question today comes from the line of Jason Butler with JMP Securities. Your line is now open.
spk02: Hi, it's Roy in for Jason. Thanks for taking our questions. I had a few on the 5 ml. I guess, how straightforward do you think it will be and what remains gating to get the auto injectors to 5 ml? And based on your preliminary work, what do you think the timelines are to get that option available? And is that going to be generally compatible with the high viscosity formulations? Thanks.
spk07: Yeah, thanks, Ryan. All great questions and work that is still a little premature for me to be able to comment specifically, but we do expect that we will be able to deliver a range of viscosity, so that's a very important thing for us. We've seen some feasibility testing with regard to this, but in terms of the specific timeline, et cetera, we want to spend a bit more time with the Antares team after the close, to really build out those plans. But this is going to be a priority for us moving forward. I'm very excited with what we've seen so far. And the great Ontario's technology, which we do think, together with the enhanced, will provide a unique offering in the marketplace to be able to deliver a large volume like 5ml subcutaneously.
spk02: Okay, very good. Thanks.
spk09: There are no further questions at this time. Helen, Troy, I turn the call back over to you.
spk10: Lovely.
spk07: Thank you very much. Well, we thank everybody for joining us today and for your attention and support. Obviously, we're off to a very strong start in Q1. We look forward to the close of the Antares transaction and being able to provide you with further updates on our Q2 call later this year. Thank you very much, everybody. Goodbye. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.
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