Alternative Headline: Illinois Backs Natroba Treatment
[MM Curator Summary]: Illinois has designated Cipher’s Natroba as the preferred Medicaid treatment for scabies and lice, replacing Permethrin 5%.
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Cipher Pharmaceuticals’ Natroba granted Medicaid preferred status in Illinois
・Cipher Pharmaceuticals (TSX:CPH), a profitable specialty pharma company, reports that its Natroba treatment for scabies and head lice has been upgraded to preferred status by the state of Illinois
・Concurrently, the state has downgraded Natroba’s main competitor, Permethrin 5%, to non-preferred status
・Cipher is a specialty pharmaceutical company with a diversified portfolio of commercial and early to late-stage products, mainly in dermatology
・Cipher Pharmaceuticals stock has added 50.23 per cent year-over-year and 1,322.22 per cent since 2020
Cipher Pharmaceuticals (TSX:CPH), a profitable specialty pharma company, reports that its Natroba treatment for scabies and head lice has been upgraded to preferred status by the state of Illinois. Concurrently, the state has downgraded Natroba’s main competitor, Permethrin 5%, to non-preferred status.
According to Tuesday’s news release, the changes mean that “all Medicaid treatments for scabies and Permethrin 5% prescriptions in the state must first step through Natroba being the preferred treatment in Illinois.”
The company believes that recent studies showing parasitic resistance to Permethrin played a determining factor in the updated preferred drug listing. See work by Rinaldi and Simonart for further reference.
Cipher has delivered positive net income over the past five fiscal years, with a high of US$26.64 million in 2022, and grew revenue by 58 per cent in 2024 thanks to increasing market share and the acquisition of Natroba. Investors have collected an over 1,300 per cent return since 2020.
Leadership insights
“The medical decision made by the state of Illinois is just another example of the effectiveness of Natroba (Spinosad) and what clear growth potential for the product remains ahead of us,” Craig Mull, Cipher Pharmaceuticals’ interim chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We believe it is only a matter of time until more state pharmacy directors require step-through of Natroba representing the standard of care in the treatment of scabies and head lice. We are in active discussions with other U.S. states to build upon this recent success, and we continue to believe there is significant potential outside the U.S. to out-license Natroba whereby lice resistance to Permethrin-based products is a pervasive worldwide issue and whereby Natroba fills an unmet need.”
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