MOB-015, Moberg Pharma’s topical nail fungus treatment, has spent the past two years building a market-leading position in Sweden and Norway under the brand Terclara®, sold through the company’s partner Allderma. That Nordic track record is now the foundation for a wider international rollout, with Karo Healthcare as the central partner.
Solid performance in the Nordics
Net revenue for Q2 amounted to SEK 5.8 million, up from SEK 3.6 million in the corresponding period last year. The operating loss narrowed to SEK 4.7 million, compared with SEK 9.7 million previously. In both Sweden and Norway, the product maintained its clear market leadership, achieving a 44 per cent value share of pharmacy sales in Sweden and 42 per cent in Norway during the quarter. At the end of June, cash and cash equivalents stood at SEK 212.4 million.
Growing global footprint
The Scandinavian momentum was matched by rapid progress internationally. The exclusive licensing agreement with Karo Healthcare was widened in April to cover Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan, then extended again in June to include cross-border e-commerce in China.
That same month, the first European countries approved the transition of MOB-015 to Karo Healthcare’s trademark, paving the way for initial deliveries planned around year-end. At the same time, launch preparations are progressing in Israel, where partner Padagis is set to bring the product to patients during the third quarter, marking the company’s first market introduction outside the Nordics.
Strengthened organisation
To support the growing number of commercial initiatives and partners, Moberg Pharma has added new expertise to its leadership team. Following the end of the quarter, Helena Jansson took on the role of Chief Business Officer and Deputy CEO, while Vaidrius Navikas assumed the position of Chief Medical Officer.
Q&A with the CEO
BioStock reached out to CEO Anna Ljung to discuss the quarter in more detail.
Anna, could you comment on the quarter’s results and Terclara’s continued performance in Sweden and Norway?
– Terclara® continues to perform very strongly in both markets, being the market leader. In Q2, we reached a 44 per cent value share in Sweden and 42 per cent in Norway. Q2 is the high season for nail fungus, when category activity and Terclara’s visibility are particularly high. What is especially encouraging is the underlying trend: looking at the rolling twelve months development, we continue to gain ground despite having established a market-leading position very early after launch. At the same time, our revenue increased and our operating loss narrowed compared with last year.
The agreement with Karo Healthcare has now been expanded twice within a matter of months, first into Asia-Pacific and then China. What is the significance of this for Moberg Pharma?
– This is a major development for us. It demonstrates both the strength of our partnership with Karo and the international potential we see for MOB-015. In April, we added Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan, markets where Karo already holds a market leading position in antifungal foot treatments with Lamisil®. In June, we added China. Leveraging Karo’s existing brands, infrastructure and commercial presence gives us an efficient route into these markets while reducing execution risk as we scale internationally.
The China agreement runs through cross-border e-commerce rather than general trade. What is behind that choice?
– Cross-border e-commerce is a smaller but rapidly growing part of the Chinese market and offers a significantly faster route to patients based on our European registration, without the need for generation of additional clinical data, which makes it a natural first step for MOB-015. Karo already has an established position with Lamisil® in China, and experience with both cross-border e-commerce and general trade channels. Importantly, the agreement preserves our full strategic flexibility to pursue the much larger general trade market at a later stage. We currently plan for the first cross-border launch during the spring.
With the first European trademark approvals now secured, what needs to happen before MOB-015 reaches patients in these markets?
– The trademark approvals are an important milestone and allow launch preparations to move forward as planned. The next steps include local approvals of updated product information and packaging materials, followed by commercial production. In parallel, Karo is intensifying the commercial groundwork for a strong launch, leveraging its established relationships with major pharmacy chains and pharmaceutical wholesalers. We expect the first commercial deliveries around year-end, positioning us for launches ahead of the important spring season.
Israel is set to become the first launch market outside the Nordics. How is that process progressing?
– We are now in the final stages ahead of launch. With the product already manufactured and delivered to Israel, the remaining step before the first batch can be released is the required testing by the Israeli authorities. We continue to expect the first patients to gain access to Terclara during the third quarter, making Israel our first launch outside the Nordics.
Helena Jansson and Vaidrius Navikas recently joined the management team. What do these appointments add at this stage of your development?
– We are entering a much more operationally intensive phase, with multiple launches and regulatory processes running in parallel. Given the increase in activity level, and the recent additions of Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, we are scaling the organization accordingly to support the rollout of MOB-015.
Looking at the rollout as a whole, how are you thinking about sequencing launches across so many markets and partners?
– We have a very capable partner in Karo, with the infrastructure and capacity in place to manage launches across multiple markets in parallel. In addition, Lamisil® is a leading global antifungal brand. Together, this provides a faster and lower-risk route to market than if we were to launch on our own. The main factor determining the timing is the regulatory work, where timelines are often outside our control. We therefore expect the rollout to take place in several waves over the coming years as regulatory processes progress, with the majority of launches timed ahead of the high season, which in the Northern Hemisphere is in the spring.
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