Shield Therapeutics (LON: STX) no longer expects to make an operating profit this year, it said today in its third-quarter trading update. The specialty drug company, which sells the oral iron treatment ACCRUFeR, now guides to a loss in the single-digit millions of US dollars for 2026.
Shield blamed the extra commercial costs of taking full US control of ACCRUFeR from the 1st of October, including an expanded sales force. The company had previously guided to operating profitability, meaning profit from running the business before financing and tax.
The quarter itself brought growth. US ACCRUFeR net revenue rose 5% to $10.8M from $10.3M in the second quarter, and group net revenue was $11.5M. Excluding one-off milestone revenue booked in the prior quarter, group revenue rose 2%.
Average net revenue per prescription, what Shield keeps after deductions, rose 4% to $217 from $208. Dispensed prescriptions held at about 49,000.
The mix improved. Medicaid prescriptions, covering the US state-run scheme for low-income patients, fell 56% between the first and third quarters after New York introduced prior authorisation, which means insurer approval before dispensing, in April. Prescriptions paid by private insurers rose 17% as Shield redirected its sales effort. The profitable retail business is now about 80% commercial and 20% Medicaid, and the third quarter is the last affected by the New York change.
The 1st of October transaction gives Shield the entire US sales force, now 80 territories. The company says this materially improves gross margins and lowers the royalty rate, the share of sales paid to a licence partner.
Chief Executive Officer Anders Lundstrom said the company was positioned for the benefits of the deal:
We are positioned to realise the full economic benefits of the US transaction, with an expanded proven commercial organisation, improving prescription mix, strong product positioning and customer focus which we believe will support long-term shareholder value creation
Anders Lundstrom, Shield Therapeutics
Cash stood at $6.8M at the end of the quarter. Shield says reaching sustainable profitability is the Board’s key priority, and it will give 2027 guidance with its fourth-quarter and full-year update. Management hosts a webinar at 2:15pm today.