Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So, if you have a tolerability issues, you go down a little slower, but you continue to dose yourself back up, you don’t just go down and stay as a rule. Your third question was just on negotiate analog. I mean, I just referenced that to remind people that these opportunities in rare diseases, they may ramp somewhat more gradually. You don’t have a hockey stick as a rule. But you tend to have them for a long time and negotiate 30-plus years from its original approval is still plus opportunity. So again, we’ll see where it goes. But BBS has many of the elements of what you want to see in a rare disease opportunity in terms of the overall size of the opportunity, the ability to diagnose that it’s syndromic in this case and the strength of the community that’s emerging in the patient community and physician community.

So, we’ll see where it goes. That was the analogy there. With regard to reimbursement, I don’t expect to see the U.S. specifically any decrease in price, including when we expand into HO. Obviously, you don’t necessarily take the same price increases that you might take in other parts of our industry here. So, there is an implicit decrease. If you don’t take a price increase, it’s in terms of inflationary adjustments. But in terms of actual price, we don’t expect any of these are rare diseases and we think we’re very fairly priced.

Dae Gon Ha: Great. Thanks for taking the question. Oh, yep.

David Meeker: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Michael Higgins from Ladenburg Thalmann. Your line is now open.

Michael Higgins: Thanks, operator, and congrats guys on the continued progress. Just wanted to follow-up on the HO trial, the pivotal that’s enrolling. If you can give us some feedback on how the pace of enrollment, the pace of screening, failure rates, and the pace of site enrollment are coming in versus the expectation? Thanks.

David Meeker: Yes. Thanks, Michael. Early, we just started, we’ll figure out – we will give new metrics as how that trial is evolving. Today, the communication is, we’re up and running, but again it is much too early to have any sense there. I will say again, probably my opinion, as opposed to sort of observe on hard data here. But there are enough patients and enough interest out there that the pre-screening of patients should be pretty good. So, patients who actually come to the site to be formally screened. I’m not expecting a high screen failure rate there. To be determined, but again, I think this is one of those situations where you’re not desperate to enroll just anybody and therefore you can end up getting higher screen failure rates, but we will see, but I can’t give you more information today.

Michael Higgins: Okay. Appreciate that. And also, you’ve noted that you’re looking for three data readouts in the second half. Curious if you can provide feedback as to the order of those events and if they come in before or after the obesity society meeting in mid-October? Thanks.

David Meeker: Yeah. I think – and you’re correct in highlighting that they are going to be linked to a meeting and so abstract acceptance and the like will be a key driver there. And we guided to Q4. I think that’s all I can do today. But we will get that information.

Michael Higgins: Okay. Appreciate it. Thanks, guys.

David Meeker: Thank you, Michael. Next question.

Operator: Thank you. One moment, please. Alright. Our next question comes from the line of Joseph Stringer from Needham and Company LLC. Your line is now open.