This quote is from a finance article making the rounds this month. So you’re not the only one
“Oxtellar XR and Trokendi XR are extended release formulations of oxcarbazepine and topiramate — XR stands for extended release. The underlying compounds are already marketed as generic drugs, but by creating once-daily formulations and testing them in clinical trials, Supernus is able to get pricing more like a branded drug.
Payors have not always been willing to pay the approximately $10k per year for reformulated versions of generic drugs. There is almost zero foreign demand for the company’s existing drugs. Its lead pipeline assets are more novel.
While their underlying compounds are not novel either, both are being tested in new indications and are therefore more like truly “new” drugs. There is more ingenuity going into the company’s pipeline than it has demonstrated in the past, and Supernus needs to prove that it can do more than tinker around with already-successful drugs.”