Ascendis Pharma Q2 Product Revenue Doubles as U.S. Drug Launch Advances

Ascendis Pharma said second-quarter product revenue more than doubled from a year earlier as YORVIPATH continued to drive commercial growth and the company’s newly launched achondroplasia drug, YUVIWEL, began contributing sales in the United States.

Product revenue reached €315 million in the quarter ended June 30, up 105% from €153.7 million a year earlier. Total revenue rose to €339.3 million from €158.0 million. YORVIPATH, Ascendis’ treatment for adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism, accounted for €252.1 million of product revenue, while SKYTROFA contributed €55.2 million and YUVIWEL generated €7.6 million in its first quarter on the market.

The figures show Ascendis moving further from a development-stage biotechnology profile toward a business supported by multiple commercial products. That transition is also raising spending as the company expands launches globally, and reported second-quarter profit was boosted materially by a one-time priority review voucher sale.

YORVIPATH drives another step-up in product sales

YORVIPATH remained the largest contributor to Ascendis’ commercial portfolio. In its second-quarter results, the company reported €252.1 million of YORVIPATH revenue, up from €103.0 million in the same period of 2025 and above the €196.9 million recorded in the first quarter of 2026. Ascendis said the latest performance reflected continued new-patient demand in the United States as well as broader international access.

Outside the United States, the company said YORVIPATH is now available commercially or through named-patient programs in more than 35 countries. The treatment is designed for adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism, a condition in which insufficient parathyroid hormone can disrupt calcium and phosphate regulation.

SKYTROFA, Ascendis’ once-weekly growth-hormone therapy, generated €55.2 million in second-quarter revenue, compared with €50.7 million a year earlier. The company said the product has passed 20,000 unique enrollments globally since launch. That growth was more modest than YORVIPATH’s, but it gave Ascendis a second established commercial revenue stream as YUVIWEL entered the market.

Across the first six months of 2026, commercial-product revenue totaled €555.8 million, more than double the €249.7 million reported for the same period last year. The scale-up has come with higher commercial costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to €173 million in the second quarter from €108 million a year earlier, which Ascendis attributed mainly to commercial expansion and global launch activities. Research and development spending increased more modestly to €76 million from €72 million.

YUVIWEL launch moves beyond the initial rollout

YUVIWEL is the newest piece of Ascendis’ commercial portfolio and the main launch milestone in the quarter. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved navepegritide under the accelerated approval pathway on February 27 to increase linear growth in children aged 2 years and older with achondroplasia and open epiphyses. Ascendis launched the once-weekly treatment in the United States in early April.

At the time of the company’s first-quarter report in May, Ascendis said more than 60 patients had enrolled in the U.S. launch program. By July 31, that figure had risen to more than 220 unique patient enrollments from more than 100 prescribing healthcare providers. The company also said more than 65% of those enrollments had been approved for reimbursement.

YUVIWEL generated €7.6 million in second-quarter revenue, its first reported product sales. The amount remains small relative to YORVIPATH and SKYTROFA, but the enrollment and reimbursement figures provide an early measure of how the launch is progressing beyond initial prescriptions. Ascendis is also making the drug available in selected international markets through early-access programs based on the U.S. approval.

The company is pursuing a broader development program around navepegritide. It said target enrollment has been completed for the pivotal reACHin trial, which is intended to support planned regulatory filings for children from birth to under 2 years old with achondroplasia. Ascendis also expects to begin a Phase 3 study of TransCon CNP monotherapy in hypochondroplasia during the second half of 2026.

In Europe, YUVIWEL’s marketing authorization application remains under review by the European Medicines Agency. Ascendis said it anticipates a decision in the fourth quarter. Because the U.S. approval was granted under the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway, continued approval is subject to the agency’s post-marketing requirements, including confirmatory work described in the approval letter.

Voucher sale boosts reported profit as commercial spending rises

Ascendis reported operating profit of €220 million for the quarter, compared with an operating loss of €53 million a year earlier. Net profit was €207 million, or €2.83 per diluted share, versus a net loss of €39 million, or €0.82 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter.

Those headline profit figures include a substantial non-recurring item. During the quarter, Ascendis completed the sale of the rare pediatric disease priority review voucher it received when YUVIWEL was approved. The transaction produced €158 million in cash after transaction-related expenses. The company had previously announced a $187.5 million sale price before expenses.

Ascendis’ supplemental non-IFRS figures strip out that and other specified items. On that basis, second-quarter operating profit was €92 million, compared with a €23 million operating loss a year earlier. Non-IFRS net profit was €61 million, or €0.90 per diluted share, compared with €4 million, or €0.07 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2025. The distinction is important because it separates the recurring commercial improvement from the one-time value realized through the voucher sale.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at €812 million at June 30, up from €616 million at the end of 2025. Ascendis said the second-quarter cash balance also reflected €56 million used for its previously announced share repurchase program and net settlement of certain restricted stock units. During the quarter, the company also completed the conversion of all outstanding $575 million of its 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2028, moving liabilities associated with the notes into equity.

For the first six months of 2026, operating cash flow was €274 million, compared with €22 million of cash used in the year-earlier period. Ascendis attributed the improvement mainly to higher commercial revenue and proceeds from the priority review voucher sale.

The next operating tests are increasingly commercial rather than purely regulatory. YORVIPATH must sustain its rapid expansion from a much larger revenue base, while YUVIWEL’s early enrollment figures need to translate into broader reimbursement and recurring sales. The fourth quarter is set to bring another concrete milestone, with Ascendis expecting a European regulatory decision on YUVIWEL and planning to begin a Phase 3 trial of its TransCon CNP and TransCon hGH combination in pediatric achondroplasia.