Daily Brief Health Care: China Traditional Chinese Medicine, Masimo Corp, Ensign Group, Exelixis Inc, Inspire Medical Systems Inc, Iti Inc, Option Care Health, Oryzon Genomics, Encompass Health and more

• Since “no dividend was proposed for the year ended 31 December 2023”, the privatization is highly likely to succeed. It may not be wise for investors to bet against privatization.
• The recent high-level personnel changes in Taiji is “thought-provoking”, which seems to be preparing for the next step of integrating with China TCM. Spin-offs and integrations are expected within Taiji.
• We analyzed possible playbook. In this way, CNPGC is able to solve the problem of horizontal competition. China TCM could also relist in A-share to gain higher valuations/better liquidity.

• Masimo Corporation had a mixed Q4 and fiscal year 2023 earnings call, reporting both positive results and some challenges.
• The company generated over $2 billion in consolidated revenues, with healthcare revenues reaching $1.28 billion.
• In addition, Masimo saw strong growth in its hearables business and reported a record number of contract wins.

• The Ensign Group offers a variety of services, including skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, home health care, hospice care, and physical, occupational and speech therapies, among others.
• In their most recent earnings presentation, the company reported impressive clinical and financial results backed by the commitment and efforts of its employees.
• Ensign reported a same-store occupancy of 79.9%, a 240 basis point increase over the last year, and also noticed improvements in their occupancy on a sequential basis of 40 basis points over the third quarter.

• Throughout 2023, Exelixis Inc, showed a strong overall performance with increased demand and revenue growth in its cabozantinib franchise, globally.
• As per their recent conference call, they revealed that the franchise’s net product revenues rose by 14% YoY in Q4 2023.
• The 2023 full-year revenue also grew by 16% YoY. Moreover, the global cabozantinib franchise net product revenues produced by Exelixis, and its partners reached approximately $2.3 billion in 2023.

• Inspire Medical Systems, a manufacturer of devices for treating obstructive sleep apnea, recently reported their fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results.
• The company delivered strong results, noting this was their first quarter with operating income and that they had completed the year on a high note.
• The company reported revenue of $192.5 million for the fourth quarter, a 40% increase from Q4 2020, and net income of $14.8 million, compared to $3.2 million in the prior year.

• Intra-Cellular Therapies, during their fourth quarter and full-year 2023 earnings, expressed a positive outlook based on strong and consistent growth throughout the past year.
• Key achievements included establishing CAPLYTA as a significant treatment option for a broad patient population with bipolar depression and schizophrenia, and advancing several of their pipeline programs.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

• This is our first report on Option Care Health.
• The company reported a decent set of Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings.
• They attribute a significant part of their growth to their commitment to offering innovative services aiming to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

With the FDA investigational new drug (IND) application clearance, Oryzon can commence its Phase I/II cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI; part of the National Institutes of Health) with Dr Noura Choudhury from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) as the principal investigator. This trial will evaluate iadademstat in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for the treatment of first-line extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). This is a key development for Oryzon as interim results from this study will influence the design of the company-sponsored Phase Ib/II STELLAR trial. The IND application for this is likely to be filed by end-2024 (trial commencing in 2025). ICIs atezolizumab and durvalumab are currently approved as first-line treatments in SCLC and Oryzon expects a combination with iadademstat to enhance immune activity in patients, increasing therapeutic efficacy. The CRADA-MSKCC trial will enrol 40–50 patients, with updates expected through 2024.

• Encompass Health’s earnings for the fourth quarter of 2023 revealed yet another strong showing for the company, capping off a robust year of performance.
• On the positive side, a significant growth in both volume and revenue was reported for the year.
• The company recorded a 10.4% increase in revenue, driven by an 8.7% spike in total discharges, indicating its value proposition indeed resonates with referral sources, payers, and the patients it serves.