Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) executives outlined the company’s oncology growth strategy, early commercial progress for recently launched therapies and business-development priorities during the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference.
Chumi Khurana, senior vice president of U.S. Oncology Franchise, said Jazz’s oncology business grew revenue 32% year over year and crossed the $1 billion mark in 2025. She said the company has completed three launches over the past year, including Zepzelca’s FORTE regimen, Modeyso and the recent first-line launch of zanidatamab in gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, or GEA.
Zanidatamab Launch Focuses on Treatment Adoption
“Trastuzumab is only used in about 60% of the patients that are eligible,” Khurana said. “Driving that treatment rate to be 100% for every patient that is HER2-positive to receive HER2-directed agent is our goal.”
Jazz has estimated that the U.S. incidence of HER2-positive GEA is approximately 8,000 patients. After considering factors including unresectable disease, first-line eligibility and testing rates, Khurana said the company’s labeled population is about 3,000 to 4,000 patients.
The company recently increased its peak-sales estimate for zanidatamab to a range of $3 billion to $5 billion. Jack Spinks, executive director of investor relations, said the outlook reflects confidence from data in GEA as well as development opportunities in biliary tract cancer, colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and early-stage and metastatic breast cancer.
Spinks said reaching the upper end of the range would depend on broad development success and the therapy’s ability to replace trastuzumab across HER2-directed treatment settings. He cautioned that the range incorporates the risks inherent in drug development.
Jazz said its commercial infrastructure for the GEA launch is largely in place. Khurana said the sales force promoting the new first-line GEA use also promotes Zepzelca, giving Jazz coverage in academic and community settings. The company expanded its medical science liaison team and is investing in community education around changes in treatment practice.
According to Khurana, Jazz has an established J-code, available supply, an operating JazzCares patient-support program and no significant payer barriers. She said the company was surprised zanidatamab had not yet been added to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines but expects inclusion soon, while not viewing guidelines as a barrier to near-term adoption.
Triplet Regimen Seen as Preferred Option
Jazz said it views the triplet regimen of zanidatamab, chemotherapy and tislelizumab as the preferred treatment for eligible patients, unless there is a contraindication. Spinks highlighted that the triplet can be used in HER2-positive patients regardless of PD-L1 status, which he described as new for the population.
Khurana said the triplet received approval across both IHC 3+ and IHC 2+ HER2 expression levels. The doublet regimen was approved for IHC 3+ patients and could be used for patients who are not eligible for the triplet, she said.
Jazz expects potential competing HER2 antibody-drug conjugates and bispecifics to be several years from producing data or reaching approval. Khurana said the company is not currently concerned about those emerging competitors, adding that their burden of proof will be to improve upon zanidatamab’s overall-survival results.
Zepzelca, Modeyso and Pipeline Priorities
Khurana said Zepzelca has grown more than 40%, with 30% to 40% of that growth coming from its new first-line indication based on the FORTE trial. Jazz is focused on expanding first-line use, where the company sees longer treatment duration than in the second-line setting.
Discussing potential competition from tarlatamab in small cell lung cancer, Khurana said the therapy may not be appropriate for every patient and noted operational and monitoring requirements. She said Jazz believes Zepzelca can remain competitive, particularly in community treatment settings, and could potentially be used in the first line while preserving other options for later treatment.
For Modeyso, Khurana said Jazz has seen strong early adoption in academic centers. The company is monitoring real-world treatment duration and pursuing patient-finding efforts, including diagnostic testing intended to identify patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
Jazz expects the ACTION trial to read out in the first half of 2027. Spinks said the trial could support a submission outside the U.S. if positive. The company has communicated U.S. peak-sales potential of more than $500 million for Modeyso across first- and second-line settings.
Khurana characterized RYLAZE as a stable oncology business, with continued focus on ensuring treatment begins promptly when hypersensitivity emerges.
Capital Allocation and Business Development
Spinks said Jazz generated $824 million of cash in the first half of the year and had approximately $2.2 billion in cash before raising an additional $1 billion through a convertible offering. The company also announced a concurrent $225 million share repurchase program.
He said Jazz intends to invest in its commercial organization and research and development while continuing to pursue business development. The company recently closed its acquisition of Actio, which Spinks said strengthens Jazz’s epilepsy franchise.
Rather than setting a specific leverage target, Spinks said the company wants to retain flexibility for acquisitions and other investments. He said Jazz can evaluate opportunities across its sleep, epilepsy and oncology verticals, including both later-stage and earlier-stage assets.
About Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ)
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for disorders in neuroscience and oncology. The company concentrates on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including sleep disorders, epilepsy, rare diseases and certain cancers.
Its neuroscience portfolio includes Xywav and Xyrem, oxybate-based treatments for narcolepsy, with Xywav also indicated for idiopathic hypersomnia in adults. Jazz also markets Epidiolex in the United States, known as Epidyolex in some international markets, a cannabidiol-based medicine for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex.
In oncology, Jazz’s products include Rylaze, an asparaginase therapy used as part of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma; Zepzelca, used for certain patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer; and Vyxeos, a chemotherapy formulation for certain cases of newly diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes.
