Business Breakdowns
Episode 122 Argenx: Changing Lives with Llamas
Business Breakdowns

Episode 122: Argenx: Changing Lives with Llamas

Business Breakdowns

Episode 122

Argenx: Changing Lives with Llamas

Julia Angeles is an investment manager at Baillie Gifford. We cover the types of autoimmune diseases argenx develops treatments for, how it navigates the world of clinical trials and regulatory approval, and what investors and operators can learn from its commercial success.

This episode is brought to you by:

Tegus. Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

 

(00:03:49) - (First question) - Ways the immune system protects us and fails us

(00:06:00) - Current patient treatments and evolving solutions to existing problems 

(00:07:52) - The key difference between how the biotech community is addressing big diseases versus autoimmune disorders

(00:09:55) - What sparked Julia’s interest in ArgenX

(00:14:01) - Explanation how we use animal antibodies to help research progression

(00:15:25) - The foundations of the business

(00:17:57) - The evolution of the business and its commercial success thus far

(00:20:22) - Transitioning from lab antibodies to a commercial product ready for consumers

(00:23:42) - The infrastructure needed to maintain and grow ArgenX

(00:26:43) - Indicators of commercial success

(00:29:27) - The basic revenue model for this business type

(00:30:49) - Go to market strategies for developed drugs 

(00:34:39) - Pricing and patient protection of these newly developed drugs 

(00:37:46) - Cures versus creating treatments with recurring revenue streams

(00:39:38) - The importance of the current team composition 

(00:41:44) - Julia’s perspective on what they are willing to invest to grow the company

(00:43:49) - Normalized profitability for biotech companies such as this

(00:45:59) - Potential risks to the current business model

(00:47:30) - Educating yourself on the science behind the business for better investment knowledge

(00:49:22) - Lessons learned from studying ArgenX

Argenx: Changing Lives with Llamas

Introduction

Zack
This is Zack, an investor at Irenic Capital. Today, we're breaking down Argenx. An immunology company founded in 2008 by its three founding partners. Today, it's a $30 billion company set to produce over $1 billion in sales. They're known for their skill in developing antibodies for complex disease targets and owe a large part of their medical breakthroughs to llamas, which have similar antibodies in their immune system to those found in humans.

To break down Argenx, I'm joined by Julia an Investment Manager at Bailie Gifford. Throughout this conversation, we'll discuss how Argenx navigates the complex world of drug development, clinical trials, regulatory approvals and the ultimate commercialization of autoimmune therapies. We'll also learn more about their transition from a venture capital-backed business to its 2017 IPO and today, a meaningful revenue-generating business. We hope you enjoy this Business Breakdown.

Access the full transcript
Sign in or register to view episode transcripts.

Contact

Get in touch at help@joincollossus.com