On January 12, 2025 Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) reported its preliminary unaudited financial results for the fiscal year 2024, provided financial guidance for fiscal year 2025 and delivered an update on its business (Press release, Exelixis, JAN 12, 2025, View Source [SID1234649616]). Exelixis anticipates 2025 will be a year of clinical and regulatory execution and continued growth for its cabozantinib franchise, as well as multiple data readouts for zanzalintinib and across its diversified pipeline of small molecules and biotherapeutics with the potential to improve standards of care for patients with cancer.

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Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results & 2025 Financial Guidance

Exelixis is providing the following preliminary unaudited 2024 financial results and financial guidance for 2025. Net product and total revenues guidance do not currently reflect any revenues resulting from a potential U.S. regulatory approval and commercial launch of CABOMETYX (cabozantinib) for the treatment of patients with previously treated advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NET). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing Exelixis’ supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for this proposed indication, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of April 3, 2025.

Fiscal Year 2024

Fiscal Year 2025 Guidance

Total revenues

~ $2.165 billion

$2.15 billion – $2.25 billion

Net product revenues

~ $1.805 billion

$1.95 billion – $2.05 billion(1)

Cost of goods sold

~ 4.2%

4% – 5% of net product revenues

Research and development expenses

~ $910 million(2)

$925 million – $975 million(3)

Selling, general and administrative expenses

~ $495 million(4)

$475 million – $525 million(5)

Effective tax rate

n/a(6)

21% – 23%

Ending cash and marketable securities(7)

~ $1.75 billion

n/p

(1)

Exelixis’ 2025 net product revenues guidance range includes impact of a U.S. wholesale acquisition cost increase of 2.8% for CABOMETYX effective Jan. 1, 2025.

(2)

Includes $30.7 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense.

(3)

Includes $40.0 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense.

(4)

Includes $63.2 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense.

(5)

Includes $60.0 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense.

(6)

Preliminary results not yet available.

(7)

Cash and marketable securities are composed of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Fiscal year 2025 guidance not provided (n/p).

The preliminary 2024 financial information presented in this press release has not been audited and is subject to change. The complete Exelixis Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results are planned for release after market on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

"Entering 2025, Exelixis stands at an inflection point as we work toward our goal of building a multi-product, multi-franchise oncology business," said Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., President & CEO, Exelixis. "Exelixis had a very successful 2024 highlighted by strong commercial and financial performance, the favorable ruling on our cabozantinib patent litigation, accelerating progress with the zanzalintinib pivotal trial program and establishing our zanzalintinib clinical development collaboration with Merck. We’re carrying that momentum into the new year as we seek to grow cabozantinib franchise revenues, accelerate and expand our zanzalintinib pivotal development program, and advance our diversified therapeutic pipeline of small molecules and biotherapeutics."

Dr. Morrissey continued: "We expect 2025 to be a year of regulatory, clinical and commercial execution as we work toward a potential regulatory approval and launch for cabozantinib in neuroendocrine tumors and prepare for multiple zanzalintinib and pipeline data readouts throughout the year. As cabozantinib’s commercial success drives the business forward in the near-term, we’re excited by zanzalintinib’s potential to surpass cabozantinib’s scope and scale in the coming years and to become an important component of our mid- and long-term revenue growth. We’re also optimizing our earlier stage pipeline, rapidly profiling compounds and advancing only those with the highest probability of success into full development. We look forward to providing more detailed updates on our pipeline progress at an R&D Day later this year. Finally, we’ll maintain our balanced approach to capital allocation, leveraging our strong balance sheet to execute on business development opportunities within the GU and GI oncology space, while using free cash flows to fund our stock repurchase program and return capital to shareholders."

Corporate Updates

Stock Repurchase Program Update. In August 2024, Exelixis announced that the company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of the company’s common stock through the end of 2025, the third stock repurchase program undertaken by Exelixis since March 2023. Under this program, as of the end of fiscal year 2024, Exelixis has repurchased $205.6 million of the company’s common stock, at an average price of $33.62 per share.

Anticipated Cabozantinib Milestones

Potential Label Expansion and Commercial Launch into NET. Exelixis is preparing for the potential commercial launch of CABOMETYX for the treatment of patients with previously treated advanced NET following the FDA’s acceptance of its sNDA and assignment of a PDUFA target action date of April 3, 2025. In January 2025, the FDA notified Exelixis that its sNDA will no longer be the subject of discussion at an Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting. The regulatory filing was based on positive results from the phase 3 CABINET pivotal trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and led by the NCI-funded Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. CABINET met its primary endpoint, demonstrating statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) for patients treated with cabozantinib as compared to placebo in both its pancreatic NET (pNET) and extra-pancreatic NET (epNET) cohorts. Final results from the trial were subsequently presented at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. In January 2025, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for NET were updated to include cabozantinib as category 1 for certain types of NET following specific treatments, and as a category 2A preferred regimen for several other forms of advanced NET, depending on site of origin and grade. A subgroup analysis from CABINET detailing the experience of patients with advanced gastrointestinal (GI) NET will also be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) GI Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI 2025) later this month. Exelixis’ partner Ipsen anticipates a decision from the European Medicines Agency on its Marketing Authorization Application for its own proposed NET label expansion in the EU for cabozantinib in 2025. While Exelixis prioritizes supporting the FDA’s ongoing review of its proposed NET indication, the company will continue to evaluate the timing of its potential regulatory filing for cabozantinib in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer based on the phase 3 CONTACT-02 pivotal study.

Anticipated Development Milestones

Expansion and Acceleration of the Zanzalintinib Pivotal Trial Program. Zanzalintinib is a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that Exelixis believes can become the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor TKI of choice as the solid tumor therapeutic landscapes continue to evolve. The zanzalintinib pivotal development program currently consists of six ongoing or planned pivotal trials, with additional studies to be announced in 2025 and beyond:

STELLAR-303 is evaluating zanzalintinib in combination with atezolizumab compared with regorafenib in patients with metastatic, refractory non-microsatellite instability-high or non-mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer (CRC). The primary endpoint in the study is overall survival (OS) in the patients without liver metastases (NLM). If OS is positive in the NLM population, the study will evaluate OS in the intent-to-treat population that includes patients with and without liver metastases. The study completed enrollment in the third quarter of 2024, and preliminary results are expected in the second half of 2025, dependent on study event rates.
STELLAR-304 is evaluating zanzalintinib in combination with nivolumab versus sunitinib in previously untreated patients with advanced non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The primary endpoints in the trial are PFS and objective response rate. Based on current enrollment status in the trial, the primary endpoint of PFS is expected to be available in the second half of 2025, dependent on study event rates.
STELLAR-305 is evaluating zanzalintinib in combination with pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone in patients with previously untreated PD-L1-positive recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The study was designed to enroll approximately 250 eligible patients in the phase 2 portion of the trial to be randomly assigned to zanzalintinib in combination with pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab alone to evaluate the activity of the combination therapy. Data from the phase 2 portion are expected be available in the second half of 2025, which would inform whether the data support expansion into the phase 3 portion of the trial, during which an additional 350 patients would be randomized for a total of 600 patients. The primary endpoints in the study are PFS and OS.
Exelixis also expects to initiate STELLAR-311, a phase 3 pivotal trial evaluating zanzalintinib compared with everolimus as a first oral therapy in patients with advanced NET, regardless of site of origin, in the first half of 2025.
Additionally, as part of Exelixis’ clinical development collaboration with Merck, two pivotal renal cell carcinoma (RCC) studies are planned for 2025. The companies will provide further details on these trials closer to their initiation.
Earlier Stage Zanzalintinib Data Readouts Expected This Year. Exelixis anticipates initial clinical data readouts from zanzalintinib’s phase 1b/2 STELLAR-001 and STELLAR-002 clinical studies in the first half of 2025, including data from CRC and RCC cohorts. STELLAR-001 and -002 are evaluating zanzalintinib as a monotherapy and in potentially best-in-class combination regimens across various tumor types. In the nearest term, at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) GI 2025 later this month, investigators will present preliminary results from a randomized expansion cohort of STELLAR-001 designed to assess the contribution of atezolizumab to zanzalintinib in patients with previously treated metastatic CRC.

Advance XL309 Phase 1 Program in PARP Inhibitor Refractory Setting and Beyond. XL309, Exelixis’ potentially best-in-class small molecule inhibitor of USP1, is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 study as a single agent and in combination with olaparib, a PARP1/2 inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors. Enrollment in the dose escalation cohorts for XL309 monotherapy and olaparib combination are ongoing. The mechanism of action of XL309 and its potential to combine with PARP-inhibitors (PARPi) provide optionality for a robust development program in a variety of solid tumors. Exelixis’ clinical development plans for XL309 include its development as a potential therapy for tumors that have become refractory to PARPi therapy, including forms of ovarian, breast and prostate cancers, pursuing potential PARPi combinations, and moving beyond the PARPi market into new areas. Exelixis plans to present data from the XL309 program at a scientific meeting in 2025.

Progress of Phase 1 Clinical Trials for XB010 and XL495. Exelixis initiated clinical development of its XB010 and XL495 pipeline programs in 2024. The company plans to rapidly profile each compound to determine if early clinical data support further advancement toward full development. XB010 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) consisting of a monomethyl auristatin E payload conjugated to a monoclonal antibody targeting the tumor antigen 5T4 and is the first custom ADC generated through Exelixis’ biotherapeutics collaboration network. The first-in-human, global phase 1 trial of XB010 is evaluating the compound in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors. The dose-escalation stage of the study is evaluating XB010 as a single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab to inform the cohort-expansion stage. The expansion cohorts are designed to further assess the tolerability and activity of monotherapy and of the combination in specific indications. XL495 is a novel, potent, small molecule inhibitor of PKMYT1. The first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial of XL495 is evaluating the compound in patients with advanced solid tumors; the dose-escalation stage of the study is designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of XL495. The expansion cohorts are designed to further assess the tolerability and activity of XL495 both as monotherapy and in combination with select cytotoxic agents in tumor-specific indications. Exelixis plans to present preclinical data from the XL495 program at a scientific meeting in 2025.

Anticipated Discovery Milestones

Three Potential Investigational New Drug (IND) Applications in 2025. Exelixis anticipates advancing three biotherapeutics programs into clinical development this year, including the XB628 PD-L1-NKG2A bispecific antibody, XB064 ILT-2 monoclonal antibody and XB371 TF-topoisomerase I inhibitor ADC. The company expects to file the IND applications for these compounds in 2025 if preclinical data continue to be supportive. Exelixis plans to present preclinical data from one or more of these programs at a scientific meeting in 2025.

Presentation and Webcast

Exelixis President and Chief Executive Officer Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., will provide a corporate overview and discuss the company’s preliminary fiscal year 2024 financial results, 2025 financial guidance and key priorities and milestones for 2025 during the company’s presentation at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference beginning at 5:15 p.m. PT / 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday, January 13, 2025.

To access the webcast link, log onto www.exelixis.com and proceed to the Event Calendar page under the Investors & News heading. A replay will also be available at the same location for at least 30 days.