Corcept Therapeutics' Commercial Drug Korlym Sales Impress Despite Increased Competition, Analyst Boosts Price Forecast

Truist Securities raised the price target for Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated CORT and cites continued momentum in Korlym sales more than a decade after launch amid increasing competition and says it “is impressive and difficult to ignore.”

Korlym (mifepristone) is a prescription medicine used to treat high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) caused by high cortisol levels in the blood (hypercortisolism) in adults with endogenous Cushing syndrome who have type 2 diabetes mellitus or glucose intolerance and who cannot have surgery or for whom surgery has failed. 

Cushing syndrome is a hormonal disorder that occurs when the body has too much cortisol, a hormone that helps the body respond to stress. 

Truist analyst notes approximately 20K Cushing’s disease (pituitary adenoma) patients in the U.S., of which ~10K are adequately managed with surgical resection of the pituitary adenoma.

Medical management is recommended for the remaining 10K. Therefore, there’s still significant room for growth, with just ~2,000 hypercortisolism patients currently on Korlym.

In June, Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. TEVA reportedly sued Corcept Therapeutics, accusing it of a monopoly on Korlym.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Corcept and its sole distributor, Optime Care, engaged in anti-competitive practices to stifle competition.

In May, Corcept Therapeutics announced that the GRACE Phase 3 trial of relacorilant in patients with hypercortisolism (Cushing’s syndrome) met its primary endpoint.

The company is conducting a Phase 3 GRADIENT trial for relacorilant with enrolled adrenal adenoma patients to strengthen the case for treating patients whose hypercortisolism was driven by adrenal adenoma.

Data from GRACE and GRADIENT studies will form a part of the FDA application submission. The analyst says, “GRADIENT is well-powered for success.”

Truist notes that Corcept Therapeutics can achieve around $3 billion in total revenue within five years.

The analyst highlights that management emphasized that once relacorilant is approved, almost all existing patients on Korlym would be converted to relacorilant.

With increased market penetration of relacorilant in Cushing’s from 16% to 25% in 2033, Truist raised the price target from $65 to $76, with a Buy rating.

Price Action: CORT stock is up 5.19% at $46.21 at the last check on Monday.

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