argenx (NASDAQ:ARGX) Chief Financial Officer Karl Gubitz told investors at the 46th Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference that the biotechnology company remains focused on revenue growth, profitability and execution as it expands the VYVGART franchise and advances additional pipeline assets.
Gubitz said argenx has transformed during his five years at the company from “essentially an R&D center in Belgium” into a “fully integrated global company” built around VYVGART, its lead asset. He said the company has a market capitalization of about EUR 50 billion and fewer than 2,000 employees, which he described as part of a disciplined operating model.
Company Targets 50,000 Patients on Treatment by 2030
Gubitz highlighted argenx’s 2030 ambition, which includes reaching 50,000 patients on treatment. He said the company last reported 19,000 patients on treatment at the end of last year and has multiple paths to reach its goal.
The company currently has two main indications, with a third in Japan for ITP that Gubitz described as small. He said argenx aims to expand to 10 labeled indications by the end of the decade and to have five new molecules in Phase III development beyond the current late-stage pipeline.
Gubitz also provided estimated annual revenue per patient figures, saying myasthenia gravis, or MG, is around $225,000 per patient, while chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, or CIDP, is around $450,000 per patient.
VYVGART Revenue Growth Continues
Gubitz said argenx has delivered 17 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, typically at roughly 100% year-over-year growth, though the most recent quarter grew 63%. He said first-quarter revenue was EUR 1.3 billion, driven by MG and CIDP in the U.S., and operating profit increased 183% to EUR 400 million. The company ended the quarter with EUR 4.9 billion in cash.
He said argenx is seeing operating leverage as revenue growth flows through to profitability and cash generation. Gubitz emphasized that the company intends to remain disciplined in scaling, saying that having cash does not mean the company should own every part of the value chain.
VYVGART is available in multiple forms, including IV, physician-administered subcutaneous VYVGART Hytrulo and a prefilled syringe for self-injection. Gubitz said the 20-second self-injection format is a key differentiator, citing argenx’s exclusivity on Halozyme technology.
“We’ve democratized the treatment of MG and CIDP with PFS,” Gubitz said.
MG and CIDP Remain Core Growth Drivers
In MG, Gubitz said 80% of patients are not yet on a biologic, leaving substantial room for biologic class growth. He said VYVGART is increasingly used earlier in treatment, and that four out of five physicians would start a patient on VYVGART among biologic options.
Gubitz said argenx originally discussed 17,000 U.S. MG patients at launch and now sees a subset of 25,000 earlier-line patients it believes VYVGART can capture. He also pointed to label expansion in seronegative MG, which he said gives VYVGART the broadest label in generalized myasthenia gravis. The company also plans to file for ocular MG, which Gubitz said represents about 7,000 patients in the U.S. and could launch next year if approved.
In CIDP, Gubitz said there are 42,000 U.S. patients, with 24,000 being treated and 12,000 not adequately treated. He said VYVGART is currently drawing from that 12,000-patient group and could move earlier over time with physician experience and additional data.
He cited data showing nearly 90% of treatment-naive patients showed a treatment effect with VYVGART, as well as sustained benefit after 96 weeks. He also highlighted regain-of-function data from the ADHERE study, saying that half of the patients who entered the study in a wheelchair walked out of the study.
Pipeline Readouts Could Expand Franchise
Gubitz said the next major readout for VYVGART is expected in the third quarter from a Phase III myositis basket study across three myositis types, representing about 70,000 U.S. patients. He said immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy, or IMNM, includes about 20,000 patients with “basically no treatment options.”
The company also has a Phase III program in Sjögren’s, which Gubitz said includes more than 300,000 patients, with data expected next year. He noted that these conditions are believed to be IgG-mediated diseases, while cautioning that clinical study risk remains.
Beyond VYVGART, Gubitz discussed empasiprubart, a C2 blocker being tested in multifocal motor neuropathy, or MMN. He described the Phase II data as “spectacular” and said the Phase III study is being conducted head-to-head against IVIG, with a primary endpoint of non-inferiority and a secondary endpoint of superiority.
Gubitz also discussed next-generation FcRn assets, including ARGX-213, which he said is Phase III-ready and designed for once-monthly dosing, and ARGX-124, which remains in Phase I. He said argenx expects data on ARGX-124 this year and will use that information to determine lifecycle management strategy. He said VYVGART patent life currently runs to 2036, while argenx continues filing additional patents.
Pricing and Guidance
Asked by William Blair Senior Biotech Analyst Myles Minter about growth potential in 2026 and 2027, Gubitz said argenx does not provide guidance, in part because binary clinical events can materially change growth scenarios. He said the company’s role is to explain its multiple growth drivers and continue feeding the top of the patient funnel.
On U.S. pricing policy and most-favored-nation risk, Gubitz said international reference pricing has long been an issue for pharmaceutical companies, but that the U.S. is now “really part of international reference pricing.” He said argenx has been disciplined in maintaining pricing within a narrow band and believes its exposure is lower than many companies.
“Unlikely that we’re going to enter into a voluntary agreement because I think we can manage on the way we are now,” Gubitz said.
About argenex (NASDAQ:ARGX)
argenx (NASDAQ: ARGX) is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody-based therapeutics for severe autoimmune and neuromuscular diseases. The company uses its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform to generate differentiated antibodies and engineered Fc regions, and it pursues mechanisms that modulate the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) to reduce pathogenic IgG levels. Argenx’s research and development activities span target identification, preclinical development and late-stage clinical programs aimed at addressing unmet needs in immunology.
The company’s lead product, efgartigimod (marketed as Vyvgart), is an FcRn antagonist developed to reduce circulating IgG antibodies and treat IgG-mediated disorders.
