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Acorda Therapeutics

acor · NASDAQ Healthcare
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Ticker acor
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Industry Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic
Employees 201-500
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FY2020 Annual Report · Acorda Therapeutics
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ANNUAL REPORT 2020

LETTER FROM THE CEO

DEAR SHAREHOLDER:
At the beginning of 2020, we established a clear set of goals for the year, and I am pleased to report that we achieved 
all of them. These goals were:

1. Monetize the excess capacity of our Chelsea manufacturing facility
2. Improve our balance sheet
3. Reduce our cost structure
4. Accelerate the INBRIJA® (levodopa inhalation powder) trajectory
5. Maintain the franchise for AMPYRA® (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg

MONETIZE THE EXCESS CAPACITY OF OUR CHELSEA 
MANUFACTURING FACILITY 

In January 2021, we announced that we had entered into an 
agreement to sell our manufacturing operations to Catalent. 
The transaction then closed in February 2021 and Acorda 
received net proceeds of approximately $74 million. The deal 
substantially reduced both our operating expenses and our cost 
of goods (COGS) for INBRIJA. 

The deal also included a global supply agreement for INBRIJA, 
ensuring it will continue to be manufactured to the highest quality 
standards and made available to people with Parkinson’s 
worldwide. Acorda’s associates at the Chelsea plant became 
Catalent employees, continuing to manufacture INBRIJA. 
The reduction in COGS has increased interest by potential 
commercialization partners for INBRIJA outside the US, and 
we are currently engaged in discussions with multiple parties.

IMPROVE OUR BALANCE SHEET

We also achieved our goal of strengthening our balance sheet. 
We brought in over $100 million in additional, non-dilutive cash in 
addition to product revenues. This included the $74 million net 
up-front payment from Catalent, a $15 million milestone 
payment from Biogen for FAMPYRATM, and a $12.7 million tax 
refund under the CARES act.

REDUCE OUR COST STRUCTURE

We have reduced our expected operating expenses for 2021 
by about $40 million, or 23%, over our 2020 expenses. 
These reductions included $10 million from the sale of our 
manufacturing operations, $6 million from a 16% headcount 
reduction in our Ardsley and field teams, and $24 million in 
additional cost reductions.

ACCELERATE THE INBRIJA TRAJECTORY

Prescribers were enthusiastic about INBRIJA when we launched 
it in March of 2019, and for the first few months we saw high 
rates of prescribing. However, prescriptions decreased in the 
latter part of 2019. We believe this was initially due to poor access 
to INBRIJA and consequent frustration for the prescribers. 

However, as we significantly improved access, and more patients 
were able to fill their prescriptions, we then saw higher-than-ex-
pected early discontinuations from the medication. We learned 
that these were often due to an unsatisfactory early experience 
for patients, which appeared related to suboptimal training about 
the proper use of the device and inhalation method. This was 
partly due to the need for improved training materials and also 
to a lack of hands-on training in physician offices - about 30% 
of patients reported receiving no in-office training when they 
received their prescriptions.

We responded by implementing several new training initiatives in 
2020. We updated our training video, developed a clear, simple 
“Helpful Hints” guide, and sent a letter with the guide to patients 
who had either never filled a prescription or discontinued therapy 
without a refill. This resulted in approximately 250 patients 
returning to therapy.

We also added Nurse Educators, who are available by phone 
or video to coach patients on the most effective methods for 
inhalation and administration of INBRIJA. In addition to respond-
ing to patient inquiries, they call every patient who receives a new 
INBRIJA prescription to offer training and answer questions. This 
has been highly effective; patients who have spoken with a Nurse 
Educator have had a 20% higher refill rate than those who have 
not. We are continuing this program in 2021.

In 2020, our customer service team also reached out to patients 
whose prescriptions had been canceled or discontinued, to 
answer questions and provide additional tips and training. To 
date, approximately 1,000 of these patients have filled, or refilled, 
their prescriptions. 

We also implemented a telemedicine initiative, in which qualifying 
commercial patients can consult with a neurologist online and, 
where appropriate, receive a prescription for INBRIJA. We saw 
progressively increasing prescriptions in the first quarter of 2020; 
however, in March 2020 physician offices closed due to the 
pandemic, resulting in an acute decline in prescriptions. Through-
out 2020, the pace of INBRIJA prescriptions closely mirrored 
COVID-19 infections – with each new surge, prescriptions 
decreased, increasing again as each surge receded.

As of March 2021, our sales team has returned to making 
in-person visits to physicians’ offices. We believe that the 
programs we established in 2020 have laid the groundwork for 
an acceleration in adoption of INBRIJA, once patients return to 
physicians’ offices in normal volumes and more of the offices 
become available to in-person visits by our sales team and 
Medical Science Liaisons. 

MAINTAIN OUR AMPYRA FRANCHISE

We have been very pleased with the durability of the AMPYRA 
franchise since generics became available in September of 2018. 
Brand loyalty continues to be high and we are continuing to 
support key activities for the brand, such as our First Step free 
trial program, reimbursement support, and co-pay mitigation for 
commercially insured patients. We were encouraged to see that 
approximately 150 new doctors wrote prescriptions for the 
AMPYRA brand in 2020.

2021 GUIDANCE

For the full year 2021, we expect operating expenses to be 
$130 - $140 million.* AMPYRA net revenue for the full year 2021 
is expected to be $75 - $85 million. We are not providing revenue 
guidance for INBRIJA at this time, given the uncertainties related 
to the pandemic.

2021 PRIORITIES

In 2020 we made significant progress to position Acorda for 
long-term success. In 2021 we will focus on the following 
priorities: 

  1.  Continue to drive INBRIJA’s commercial growth by 

increasing patient demand, improving the physician and 

  patient experience, and continuing to make progress in 
  expanding access.

  2.  Continue to support the AMPYRA franchise, which is a 

  significant contributor to Acorda’s revenue. 

  3.  Continue to optimize our financial structure to create

long-term value for shareholders. A key deliverable will be 

  addressing our $69 million debt payment, due in June of 

this year.

  4.  Build on the ARCUS® technology platform, which has now 
  been validated by the approval on INBRIJA in the US and 

the EU.

On behalf of our Leadership Team, Board of Directors and our 
associates, thank you, our shareholders, for your continued 
support. We look forward to building on our work in 2021 to 
build substantial shareholder value.  

RON COHEN, M.D. 
PRESIDENT AND CEO

*This guidance is a non-GAAP projection that excludes restructuring costs and share-based 
compensation charges. Due to the forward looking nature of this information, the amount of 
compensation charges needed to reconcile this measure to the most directly comparable GAAP 
financial measure is dependent on future changes in the market price of our common stock and 
is not available at this time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MANAGEMENT

Lauren Sabella

Tierney Saccavino
Executive Vice President, 
Corporate Communications

LEAD ERSHIP TEAM

Ron Cohen, M.D.
President and Chief  

Burkhard Blank, M.D.

and Head of R&D

Peter S. Carbone
Executive Vice President, 
Quality

Denise Duca, Ed.M.
Executive Vice President, 
 Human Resources

Andrew Mayer, J.D.
Deputy General Counsel 
and Corporate Secretary

BOARD  OF DIRE CTORS

Ron Cohen, M.D.
Founder

Barry Greene 
Board Member since 2007

Peder K. Jensen, M.D. 
Board Member since 2011

John P. Kelley
Board Member since 2008

Sandra Panem, Ph.D.
Board Member since 1998

Lorin J. Randall 
Board Member since 2006

Catherine D. Strader, Ph.D.
Board Member since 2017

ACORDA, ACORDA THERAPEUTICS, the stylized ACORDA THERAPEUTICS LIFE. SCIENCE. mark, 
AMPYRA, INBRIJA, FAMPYRA and ARCUS are all trademarks of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. 
© 2021 Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. All rights reserved.

CONTACT
Tierney Saccavino
Executive Vice President
Corporate Communications
914-326-5104