Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (HALO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary
June 11, 2024
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Corinne Jenkins
analystThanks so much for joining us this morning at the Global Healthcare Conference, and thank you so much, Helen for joining us from Halozyme.
Corinne Jenkins
analystMaybe we'll just start. I think perhaps it's easiest always just to start with an overview. So if you could -- an overview of the company and the key competencies that you guys have?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So the Halozyme, our vision is to transform the treatment experience for patients receiving high-volume biologics to allow them to receive their treatment in a way that fits their life rather than to have the restrictive approach to IV treatment dictate how they're recovering from whatever disease they have. We do this with our subcutaneous delivery technologies that instead of our long IV infusions allow patients to receive treatment via short subcutaneous injection, often in just minutes. And we know this is strongly preferred by patients. Many studies have been done now that show that over 90% of patients prefer subcutaneous delivery over IV. The approach of subcutaneous delivery is very well established in oncology, and we're seeing growing momentum in inflammation and immunology and neurology areas as well, which is just incredibly exciting. That's the core of our business -- our ENHANZE business. We also have auto-injectors. Just to say, we have got 7 approved products already with ENHANZE. We're expecting 2 more approvals this year and 1 more approval in 2025. So that will be 10 approved product by the end of 2025. And we've generated a lot of experience, obviously, with this, with more than 800,000 patients treated. We have a well-established safety database, and we've demonstrated strong market acceptance and commercial success, which is very, very exciting. Our business model is simple. We license our technologies to leading companies to allow them to transform their IV drugs subcutaneous, and we receive on average a mid-single-digit royalties on the net sales of the products. And this is what's driving the strong momentum of the revenue at Halozyme. We recently updated our 2024 guidance. And if you look at our website, you can also see guidance that goes out to 2028 or an outlook -- a 5-year outlook that is driven primarily by the expected growth and momentum of the ENHANZE business, our auto-injectors, and we also have a commercial business as well. So all of those are what's driving, I think, a very exciting growth story for Halozyme and I'm sure we're going to talk about some of those opportunities in more detail in a moment.
Corinne Jenkins
analystYes, you referenced the guidance. You took a step of introducing a multiyear guidance earlier this year, you updated it last week. Maybe talk to us first about like why you felt this was an appropriate time to put out that kind of guidance, and then we'll talk about some of the details.
Helen Torley
executiveAt the beginning of the year, I was reflecting on my 10-year tenure at Halozyme. And I realized that I was more excited that at any time in my history at Halozyme on the opportunities that lie ahead for us. And so we were at the beginning of the year, and I realized I had unique insights really into the growth drivers, our accomplishments and where the company was going to be able to go. And so we wanted to establish a forum where we'd be able to provide more insights and detail on that and share that excitement and the story of where this growth would come from. So we did the investor event in January and shared the guidance. We actually, at the start of the year, had a vision that we would use it again, and I'm very pleased to say that came through just last week when we were also able to share an update on the issuance of an EU patent that allowed us to further update the guidance. And so we're going to use that form Corinne to be able to share [indiscernible]. And there's a lot going on at Halozyme. So expect more updates throughout the year as we find those events that we want to make sure we can share with our investors so that everybody understands the business we have, because we have a very exciting business on the face of it looks simple. We're a licensing business. We've got great technologies. We've got great IP, but it's a nuance that we find sometimes can lead to lots of questions, and I'll just use an example of the 2024 revenue, we were getting lots of questions about the loss of exclusivity of our composition of matter patent in Europe. We use that forum in January to have our Chief Legal Officer, Mark Snyder, walk everybody through the co-formulation patents, because those are just a unique feature of our business that allow us to have durable revenues at the mid-single-digit royalty rate without a step down, except in the case of Janssen, and it was very good, I think, for our investors to get that level of detail, have everybody understand just what a unique business model we have and the amazing long durability of revenues that we're going to have.
Corinne Jenkins
analystThe guidance you shared was very detailed, but maybe you could give us some of the highlights in your view in terms of revenue growth or EBITDA growth? And also, what was the update last year -- or last week, what is it?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. Let me start with the update last week because when we've given the guidance in January, we had projected it predominantly driven by the royalties on the Wave 1 and 2 and 3 products. Now Wave 2 products at DARZALEX and Phesgo, and then the Wave 3 products are the 5 products that are launching between 2023 and 2025. We chose to focus on those products because they were largely derisked. All of those products and the 10 products in total have either launched, have positive Phase III data all with the exception of Amivantamab, which now also has positive Phase III data. So an amazing track record of success there. And that is a driver of our strong revenue growth and royalty revenue growth. Now I mentioned the dynamics of the Co-form patent. What we chose to do in that presentation would also show that for all of the products except for DARZALEX, there was no step down. And that showed that all of these were continuing with the mid-single-digit royalty until at least 2030, in all cases, out past 2030 in a number of cases and even out to 2040 in the case of VYVGART and Tecentriq. The one product that we did show a step down was at DARZALEX. That's a unique contract as we've shown. And in our guidance, we had shown a step down by 50% in 2024. Now what was exciting about what we announced last week was we had a new European patent issue. This is covering the product that is produced from our manufacturing process. And excitingly, this will now stop the step down for the DARZALEX. It will maintain now at the original royalty rate out until March 2029. And it was that difference that allowed us to update our guidance last week. So we're now showing, for example, royalty rate growth between 2023 and [ 2020 ] has a CAGR all of 20%, achieving $1 billion by 2027. Just to give you an example. Our total revenues are over $1.5 billion by 2027 as well. So just amazing growth with a highly profitable business. And so our EBITDA growth is even stronger and growing very nicely and enabling our business.
Corinne Jenkins
analystPerfect. There is a similar patent under consideration here in the U.S. So maybe just talk to us about what could play out with that pattern this year and how it would impact the guidance if it did so?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So for the U.S., there's also a patent pending around the product produced from the manufacturing process. This -- it's a slightly different process in the United States. We filed this also last year. And we expect that to be taken up by the patent office this year. Now what we can't be certain, obviously, exact timing as to how long it's going to take the U.S. patent office to review it. And what's going to be very important to us are the claims that are ultimately granted if that patent is granted. But I will say that our legal team has got strong confidence in this reissue -- patent being issued. And once again, if the claims are similar to what we saw in Europe, that is going to prevent a step down in the U.S. royalty rate for Janssen, which is set to step down in 2027. But in the case of this patent issuing, we've maintained the royalty rate until 2029 at the full mid-single-digit royalty. So high confidence that's going to issue, but we don't make that presumption. So in our projections at this point in time until the patent issues, we will not be updating it to show the reflection of what is very nice value. And let me just dimensionalize the impact of some of these patents because for Europe, we project that the increase in revenues in 2025 will be $55 million, in 2028, it's $100 million. Now I want to put that in context and think about it that, that actually is equivalent to us signing a new deal the product already being a blockbuster and us beginning to drive revenue from day 1, substantial revenue for day 1. So you can see the value of these patents given we're working with such exciting products like DARZALEX.
Corinne Jenkins
analystSure. So we'll come to some of the commercial products in a minute, but I want to talk for a second about business development. Obviously, this is a kind of a key driver of your business kind of in the 2030 and beyond in particular. So you've spoken at the recent quarterly update about a number of late-stage conversations regarding potential pipeline deals across your portfolio. Maybe you could provide an update on the status for kind of conversations in that realm?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So I will say we're in conversations with multiple companies. And the one thing I can say for certain is that we are the gold standard for rapid subcutaneous delivery of biologics, that comes from the 7 products that are now approved. And importantly, the hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars of value we've helped create for partners by either helping [indiscernible] market or add to their competitive differentiation. And so we gave an update on our last quarterly [indiscernible] in terms discussion [indiscernible] that's the stage that happens before we move to negotiation [indiscernible] in technical discussions with another set of company. [indiscernible] Nobody seeking to use the technology to be able to enable rapid subcutaneous delivery of their biologics. We're talking to a range of companies from big pharma to SMID-Cap biotechs with people really jumping on the trend that we're seeing is just increasing to recognize that subcu delivery is the way of the future in multiple [indiscernible] as I mentioned earlier, oncology, neurology, inflammation. The recognition of the benefit for patients, also for the health care system, but also competitive differentiation is really top of mind for just a broad range of companies. So very happy with the progress, very happy with the set of opportunities that we have ahead of us there.
Corinne Jenkins
analystMaybe you just answer this question a little bit, but if you could give us a flavor of where you're fielding those interests with respect to the kinds of partners, but the kind of products also [indiscernible] need to make into a subcutaneous formulation.
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So yes, I did mention it just in terms of talking to Pharma, talking to SMID-Cap biotech, which traditionally worked mostly with monoclonal antibodies. I would say that has expanded to conversations, also including bispecifics, antibody-drug conjugates, RNA therapies and the more innovative therapies like nucleic acid, with people really wanting to understand the full impact that ENHANZE can have on their clinical profile. And one thing that's very exciting is many companies have used the subcu technology to be able to convert from already approved IV, which is terrific. We have a very clear and rapid path for that, and we're 11 for 11 success in companies doing that. We're more and more talking to companies who are thinking subcu from the start. And subcu from the start is something we've always talked about, but we're now seeing more interest in that. And why that's important is -- if you do subcu from the start, you get to optimize your dose. When you're delivering subcu with ENHANZE, we take -- we call the Cmax, so the peak concentration in the blood to be lower. You get a more extended profile. And if you can balance that safety efficacy profile, you can actually turn out with a much better clinical profile from the drug than if you are restricted to what was the dose you chose to do IV, and so those are the types of conversations we're having. I'm sure we're going to talk about Amivantamab and lymphatic tracking in a moment, but that actually has been an area [indiscernible] deliver subcu, you can [indiscernible] profile, that's a value add.
Corinne Jenkins
analystSure. And how should we think about the cadence of new partnerships this year, both with respect to the ENHANZE co-formulations but also the auto-injector business you bought a couple of years ago?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. Very happy with the set of opportunities we have I'd like to say, we're trying to peg exact timing as a full game. It's really hard [ to do ], but with a set of opportunities, I'm very confident in [indiscernible] what I will say.
Corinne Jenkins
analystOkay. In terms of [indiscernible] in this space. But how are you seeing the competitive landscape over the past couple of years as compared to when you first got into it?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. I mean, once again, as we have such a strong lead in this area, obviously, with 7 approved products, soon to be 10, and the fact that we now have over 800,000 patients that have been exposed. What we're finding is very much that pharma companies -- and the biotech companies, they're risk averse. They want something that's tried and tested. They want a clear regulatory pathway. And so we definitely are the gold standard here, and that's why people come to us.
Corinne Jenkins
analystOkay. Maybe we'll talk about some of the specific products. You have to start with DARZALEX, right? So since its approval in 2020, obviously, been very successful product for both you and for Johnson & Johnson. How do you think about the drivers of growth from here, particularly given the conversion rate is already quite high?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. As you point out, this really is a remarkable story. So we're 4 years into the launch for the subcu version, which was in 2020. And so we're really at the start of what's going to be an incredible continued growth journey with DARZALEX. Last year, sales were about $9.7 billion. If we look at what -- and most of that is the subcu because as you point out, over 90% conversion in the U.S., over 80% outside the U.S. Now analysts project, we're going to see the DARZALEX [indiscernible] by 2028. We agree with that. And the driver of that is the ability with the subcu to further increase penetration into the frontline population. And importantly, patients in the front line stay on therapy far longer. And so if you imagine that, that growth of the $8 billion is virtually all subcu. That is just, I think, phenomenal growth. Think about it, $8 billion, we receive on average a mid-single-digit royalty in Europe now to 2029, strong probability that's going to be the case until 2029 in the U.S. as well. That is exciting about the continued growth and we're excited for a phenomenal job that Janssen has done and their great vision with even a new frontline indication pending with the FDA that I think is going to further accelerate this potential to add another $8 billion in 4 years.
Corinne Jenkins
analystAnother one of the products is Phesgo, Obviously, that's begun to contribute more meaningful in the past -- meaningfully in the past couple of years. You've highlighted that improvement in conversion in the U.S. I guess where do you think the natural peak is in terms of U.S. conversion then what are some of the factors that drive that?
Helen Torley
executiveYes, another enhanced success story. And for people who are less familiar with Phesgo, this is Roche's product, which is Herceptin and Perjeta, which is for breast cancer patients where with the subcu, it transforms the treatment experience from hours for sequential IV treatments to just 5 to 8 minutes for the subcu. So strong patient preference for this, over 85% all of women prefer to receive the subcu because of the shorter treatment duration but more comfort in receiving their treatment as well. And so 40% global conversion, that has just been a great growth story quarter-over-quarter sequential growth there. And we expect to continue to see that, frankly, to continue to grow. I don't want to put a cap on it Corinne because it just has demonstrated visibility in the U.S. and outside the U.S. to have more and more clinics adopting it and increasing the penetration within the clinic, because of their very strong value proposition, but also the patient's preference for this therapy. So a lot more to come with Phesgo as well.
Corinne Jenkins
analystAs we look at those 2 products, how do you think about read-through to other near-term oncology launches. We've got Tecentriq and Opdivo upcoming and how do you think about the opportunity set for those agents in terms of conversion?
Helen Torley
executiveYes, Opdivo, so Bristol's nivolumab, $9 billion in revenue last year. Now we know the PDUFA date is going to be December of this year. And Bristol has talked about the fact that on approval, there is going to be about 75% of the opportunity covered by the initial label. And so that's a phenomenal opportunity of the 75% of the $9 billion. Once again, analysts are projecting that to grow to $13 billion over the next several years. And so we [indiscernible] that proposition, which is going to take our long therapy [indiscernible] a very strong one there, and we do see very nice uptake happening there. Similarly for Tecentriq, and this will be the fourth launch for Roche -- [ deep ] experience and has demonstrated strong success with flexibilities to convert markets to subcu, particularly outside the U.S., but with Phesgo as we've just talked about, also seeing success in U.S. as well. So I'm very excited about once again the value proposition and what we're going to see with conversion where those 2 products are going to be about $20 billion in addressable market by analyst projections by 2028. So it's another very large opportunity for SC conversion for us to add to the revenues.
Corinne Jenkins
analystI think there's also been some experience with Phesgo with biosimilars and the introduction of things like that. So talk to us about how -- what you've seen with the biosimilar context and how that would impact your expectations for both Opdivo and Tecentriq over time?
Helen Torley
executiveYes, I'll talk about actually maybe Herceptin and biosimilars because we get recently updates from Roche with regard to how that's going. And Herceptin launched in Europe in about 2013, 2014, biosimilars came in [ 2017 ], 2018. And they've converted the market to 60% subcu by the time biosimilars came in, and there was an on-slot of biosimilars, 3 or 4 very quickly, lots of price erosion. To this day, so from 2018 to today, what Roche tells us is that the subcu share is sticky. Once a clinic in Europe has moved to a subcu, they're not going back despite the fact that there is price difference for the biosimilar. And there's no pressure from the health authorities. And that's because delivering subcu reduces the overall cost of care so meaningfully. And the patient preference is so strong for subcu that biosimilars did not take over those converted markets. And so for companies, I think it's a very important thing people are considering is the ability for the patients to remain on subcu and a lot of drivers supporting that rather than biosimilars where the price just is chased down into the ground.
Corinne Jenkins
analystSure. We're also monitoring some near-term launches in the autoimmune space. So you've got VYVGART Hytrulo kind of ongoing, Ocrevus is coming, I think, much anticipated. So what are some of the features of the autoimmune therapeutic landscape that you think maybe differ or similar to oncology as you think about how this could go?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. Specific to VYVGART, I actually liking very much to [indiscernible] does what FASPRO the subcu version I just mentioned. VYVGART launched in 2021, the end of 2021 as an IV for myasthenia gravis so an autoimmune disease. The subcu launched by 18 months after in mid-2023. And so argenx was very smart saying, I'm only a year into building this market because VYVGART is the first thing anti-FcRn. So it's a new mechanism of action. High unmet need in the market, but new mechanisms of action. So what they saw with the IV was they had strong success with the launch with the positioning of the drug and use more being towards later stages of disease. And so what they did with the subcu launching 18 months afterwards, they didn't want to cannibalize this market. They've just grown. They wanted to use the subcu to gain more adopters of the product and to move therapy into the earlier lines. So they're using the subcu very strategically to expand the market and expand awareness and use of VYVGART overall. And so that is, I think, a very smart strategies and one that we know based on the first quarter report is bearing very nice dividends for them. Now that's in the indication of myasthenia gravis, just to say that in June is the PDUFA date for CIDP, this is a terrific opportunity, high unmet need in the market today where the VYVGART Hytrulo, which is given in just 30 to 90 seconds versus in CIDP an hour long therapy to be able to receive your immunoglobulins, which is a common area. It is a subcu only launch. So all of the launch in the subcu. So this all tells us a subcu is going to be the key driver VYVGART Hytrulo for organic. And so we're very excited with regard to that.
Corinne Jenkins
analystOkay. And I think Roche said that Ocrevus subcu could drive at least $2 billion in I think, incremental sales there. As you've noted, that's not probably the full scope of the product opportunity. So talk to us about how you think through the upcoming Ocrevus launch?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. Now this is a product that was later in its life cycle. So Ocrevus is the established leading therapy for multiple sclerosis, both in Europe and the U.S. And that's really because of the phenomenal data they have and the long-term data they have. The IV for patients can take anything from 3.5, 6.5 hours. What the subcu is offering is just a 10-minute treatment. I think you can imagine that is going to be transformative for patients. Now what Roche has talked about is that their growth of Ocrevus, despite the success of about an $8 billion brand today. We feel the growth has been limited because not every neurologist has got access to IV infusion capabilities because you need this for the care and giving of the patients who are receiving IV ocrelizumab. And so subcu is offering the opportunity for care to move into the community hospitals or even the physician's office division. And that's where that $2 billion number is coming from Corinne, where it's going to the market to people who didn't get access to therapy before. That's obviously very exciting. For patients who are on the IV though, they will also have the opportunity to be able to transform their treatment experience from 3.5 to 6.5 hours going to 2 hours away to an academic center, perhaps for their infusion to go into their local community hospital and getting treatment in just 10 minutes. That is transformative. And so we're going to see a mix with Ocrevus because of market growth and some conversion as well. It's going to be just a great win-win for patients, and a big win for Roche as well, clearly for Halozyme because we receive on average a mid-single-digit royalty on net sales, we're very excited about the Ocrevus launch. I think it's underestimated drug in terms of just how much it does for patients, but also just how successful it has been.
Corinne Jenkins
analystYes, very good. So last again, on the clinical side, we did see some data at ASCO. I thought it was very interesting. Maybe you could provide the highlights there.
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So Johnson & Johnson presented data with Amivantamab, which was really very exciting. So they're developing a subcu version of the IV drug that's called Rybrevant. The IV drug takes a long time to infuse because it has to be given very slowly because it has a high incidence of infusion-related reactions. So those are like an allergic direction when you're getting the drug that can cause low blood pressure, sweating, dizziness or even anaphylaxis. And for patients receiving Rybrevant, it often has -- the initial doses be given over 2 days and it takes up to 5 hours per dose. The data that was presented at ASCO was from the PALOMA-3 study. And this was following what I mentioned was our traditional approach for patients wanting to convert IV to subcu. It was a Phase III study where the primary endpoint was pharmacokinetics. The study was successful in meeting its pharmacokinetic endpoint, what's important for that means that, that supports the submission. And actually Johnson has already filed for the subcu approval in Europe. So that was great for us. That's 11 for 11 in products that have done this IV to subcu bridging strategies, which we would call it. The data that will be meaningful in terms of product uptake are: number one, treatment was reduced from 5 hours for many patients down to just 5 minutes, transformative. The infusion-related reactions were reduced by a factor of 5 fold. 57% down to just the teens. Again, we know that was a driver of the amazing uptake we saw for DARZALEX FASPRO. So once again, we're going to see, I think, a very nice uptake with Rybrevant. The interesting additional thing that was reported at ASCO is the overall survival, which was actually listed as an exploratory endpoint showed a statistically significantly better overall survival in the subcu arm versus the IV arm. Now that is unexpected and with the design of these studies that are not designed to optimize the profile of the drug. They're designed to match the exposure to the IV. So something very exciting is going on there, as I'm sure you're about to ask.
Corinne Jenkins
analystWhat's the hypothesis. Why did that happen?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So not known at this point in time, but hypothesis that once I think the company had a chance to present data on the full PK profile will bring some more color, but also there's something intrinsic to the mechanism of action. When you deliver a drug subcu with ENHANZE that we believe is at play as well. Let me talk about the pharmacokinetics. And so it is possible that while the overall PK was known inferior, which is what you want to do that the overall exposure within a similar range do you see with the IV, it could be that the trough concentration, so the lowest concentrations in the blood were higher for a longer period of time for patients, and that could be causing greater efficacy. So that is very feasible and possible based on what we know about what the ENHANZE does to the pharmacokinetic profile. So a bit more exposure for longer, phenomenal for patients because that will be causing the response. The second thing is when you give an antibody subcutaneously. It is not absorbed directly into the bloodstream. It is trafficked through the lymphatic system and goes to the lymph node. Now the lymph nodes are where all of your immune cells live and the drug is exposed there to T cells and other efficacy enhancers. And so this is what we think may be happening, that is the lymph trafficking, which happens with ENHANZE very rapidly that could be causing an elevation of the efficacy of the therapies when they're exposed to the immune cells. Now this is not just an idle theory, I will say, we have for a number of years been working with the world leaders in lymphatic trafficking and Dr. Porter who is based in Monash University in Australia. And we have demonstrated in with them in several animal models that the use of ENHANZE to deliver drug subcu differentially add efficacy to a range of oncology therapeutics. And so again, study wasn't designed in a way to know that, but it's certainly from our experience. Both of these are likely at play, and I think very exciting to see this finding of the increased overall survival.
Corinne Jenkins
analystYes. To the extent that, that hypothesis does bear out, I guess, where would you see read across? And how do you think that could impact your ability to kind of find additional partnerships and particularly the oncology, but any other space you think are relevant?
Helen Torley
executiveIt gets back to something I mentioned earlier, Corinne, that we are talking to companies about the impact of lymph traffic. And when you think about RNA therapies, nucleic acids, immune checkpoints and other oncology therapeutics. If you're developing a drug subcu from the start, what a wonderful opportunity with ENHANZE to be able to optimize the profile. You can reduce the Cmax, which is often associated with side effects, and you can get the optimal PK profile to really get that efficacy you want with the additional potential benefit of the added lymph trafficking. And again, animal model certainly suggests this is all a very feasible and possible. And so we are excited to already be talking to people about this based on the literature that's out there on the lymphatic trafficking.
Corinne Jenkins
analystGreat. We don't have a ton of time left, so I'll let you -- is there any other product in the pipeline that you're particularly excited about or I think we should highlight in this conversation?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. I'll just continue maybe with Amivantamab and then bridge to the Wave 3 products because Amivantamab is -- J&J itself talks about it being a $5 billion brand over time. And you can imagine with this profile where we have such a dramatic reduction in the infusion-related reactions, that we're very excited about this adding to our royalty revenues beginning in 2025, which is when we estimate the launches will happen there. And I will say that the Amivantamab royalty rate in Europe will be to what we're seeing for DARZALEX. So the contract applies to DARZALEX and to Amivantamab. So it will be at the full mid-single-digit royalty rate until 2029 as well. The Wave 3 products I just mentioned are -- we talked VYVGART, we talked about Tecentriq, Opdivo, Ocrevus and Amivantamab, those products are having $35 billion in analyst projections by 2028. And so when you think about that being the growth driver for Halozyme going forward, I'll contrast that to FASPRO and Phesgo being $20 billion. That's why we are so excited to be seeing this great success, 100% success in Phase III for our Wave 3 of portfolios because it's a larger addressable market, if you like. Now obviously, what matters to us is how much converts to the product, but now with a mid-single-digit royalty to at least 2029 for all of these products. We're incredibly excited. And that's what's driving that 20% CAGR for our royalties, which I think you'll agree is a remarkable growth rate.
Corinne Jenkins
analystYes. You're in perhaps the unusual position as a biotech company of having plenty of cash. So how do you think about capital allocation, business development and the like?
Helen Torley
executiveYes. So for specific business development, we did our last acquisition, which was the acquisition of Antares in 2022. That acquisition is complete. The integration is complete, and I'm very pleased with how the commercial business as I said, is doing as well as our auto-injector business as well. So that's an important part. With the progress in other parts of our business, we are also seeing that by the end of this year, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio will be down again, it will be 1.5x. And as you've seen in our projections, our EBITDA is growing nicely. So we're in a great position to be considering doing M&A. But because the business is strong, we're in no urgency to do M&A. And so what we would do is I'll give my usual [indiscernible] we'll take our time. We'll find the right opportunity that has got the ability to add to the profile of the company, adding revenue, adding durable revenue. And we're looking in the areas of drug delivery technologies. But we're also looking outside that in adjacencies. Our business model is to be a leader in licensing technologies. I think we've demonstrated that, obviously, with great success with ENHANZE and core to that is our strength in IP. We've demonstrated that recently with the expansion of our claims as it relates to ENHANZE. And so we're going to take our time. We're going to find the right opportunity as it relates to M&A. But we do think if we can find that, that will be the best way to return additional value to our shareholders using our capital.
Corinne Jenkins
analystPerfect. And with that, we're out of time. Thank you so much for joining us both here and on the webcast at the Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference, and thank you so much, Helen, for the insights.
Helen Torley
executiveThank you so much. Appreciate it.
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