Hello and welcome to Ipsen's conference call and webcast on H1 2025 results. I will now hand you over to David Loew, Ipsen CEO. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Operator, and hello everyone. I'm delighted to welcome you this afternoon to our H1 2025 results presentation, which can also be found on ipsen.com. I want to use the time we have together to focus on the progress Ipsen delivered in the first half of 2025 and on the future opportunities and platforms for growth. Please turn to slide two. Please take note of our forward-looking statements, which outline the routine risks and uncertainties contained within this presentation. Also, all my comments on growth will be based on constant exchange rates. Please turn to slide three. I'm going to take you through the presentation of our latest business update, followed by Christelle Huguet, Head of Research and Development, who will provide an R&D update, while our CFO, Aymeric Le Chatelier, will take you through the financials.
At the end of the presentation, all three of us will be participating in the question and answer session. Let's begin by looking at today's highlight. Please turn to slide four. Turn to slide five. Today's headlines illustrate how we are continuing to produce sustainable growth. Total sales grew by 11.4% in the first half of 2025, accompanied by a core operating margin of 36%. As you have seen, we announced last week the European Commission approval of Cabometyx in neuroendocrine tumors, an area where Ipsen has a strong legacy. During this first half, we also made good progress with our pipeline, including the entry in phase II of IPN 10200, our long-acting neurotoxin AD, in cervical dystonia. This milestone highlights the fourth study in the Global Long-Acting Neurotoxin Development Plan in therapeutic and aesthetic indications.
Pipeline progress also came in the form of the EMEA regulatory submission of tovorafenib for pediatric low-grade glioma earlier in the year. In the second half, we anticipate a pivotal trial redirect for fidrisertib in FOP and, excitingly, our first proof-of-concept data for our long-acting neurotoxin in aesthetics. Christelle will provide more details on these as well as on the development of elafibranor in PBC and PSC in her section. Lastly, based on the solid momentum and the strong performance of this first half, we are pleased to upgrade our full-year guidance. We now expect total sales growth greater than 7% at constant exchange rates and a core operating margin greater than 32%. Aymeric will provide more details in his section. Please turn to slide six.
Our sales in H1 delivered a solid 11.4% growth, fueled by all three therapeutic areas, with Q2 very much aligned with Q1 performance. Oncology has performed well with H1 sales growth of 6.4%. Rare disease continued to have the most impressive performance, driven by the sustained success of Iqirvo and the strong performance of Bylvay. Neuroscience with Dysport continued to deliver high single-digit growth. I now turn to oncology for more details. Please turn to slide seven. Starting with Somatuline, sales were up by 14.1%. Both Europe and the U.S. continued to benefit from shortages of generic lanreotide. We do anticipate more lanreotide generic competition with potential entry in the second half of the year. Cabometyx sales were slightly down by 0.2%, with solid performance in Europe from increased volumes offset by shipment phasing and increased competition in the rest of the world.
We're confident that Cabometyx should continue to grow its market share in the current indication in renal cell carcinoma and progressively launch in the neuroendocrine tumor indications. Decapeptyl sales were up by 0.5% as we experienced volume growth in Europe and China, despite continued competition and some pricing pressure in some countries. Onivyde sales grew by 6.5%, with moderate growth in the U.S. driven by the first-line metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. We recognize that it will take time to drive first-line differentiation and address some challenges around access to payers. Now let's turn to rare disease. Please turn to slide eight. On rare disease, Bylvay continues to perform nicely, with H1 sales of $87 million growing by 53.7%, driven by strong demand in the U.S. and in Europe in both PFIC and Alagille syndrome indications.
We also had an increasing contribution from the rest of the world, with access and reimbursement now secured in 17 countries. Turning to Iqirvo, the launch continues to track very well, with sales reaching $59 million this semester. In Q2, we saw an acceleration in the U.S. with a 65% growth quarter -over -quarter, driven by an increasing uptake from new patients and switches from Ocaliva. Europe was also very strong, with sales mainly from Germany and the U.K., and launches initiated in Spain and Italy in June. Moving to neuroscience, let's turn now to slide nine. Dysport delivered another solid performance with H1 sales growth of 9.7%.
In aesthetics, sales grew by 17.5%, driven by continued expansion in most territories, including the U.S., Europe, and rest of the world, and by a strong performance from our partner Galderma, who continued to gain market share in key countries and solid growth in our Ipsen territories. On the therapeutic side, Dysport showed solid and consistent demand growth across all geographies. In the U.S., notably, we continued to gain market share in our specificity indications with strong double-digit sales growth. Reported sales were, however, flat due to an adverse phasing of orders in Brazil. Supported by solid market growth in both indications and strong execution, we're confident that Dysport should continue to deliver high single-digit sales growth in the short, mid, and long term. Now, I'd like to present the upcoming catalysts. Please turn to slide 10.
In the second half of 2025, we are expecting updates in rare disease and neuroscience. Starting with rare disease, we should report the pivotal FALKON trial results for fidrisertib in FOP . Secondly, in neuroscience, we're expecting the proof-of-concept data readout for LANT in aesthetics. Looking ahead, 2026 is going to be a busy year for the pipeline, with several phase III data readouts across all three therapeutic areas, including for Bylvay, Iqirvo, Tazverik, as well as migraine trial readouts for Dysport. With that, I'll now hand over to Christelle, who will provide more detail on our pipeline and those exciting milestones. Please turn to slide 11.
Thank you, David. Good morning and good afternoon. Please turn to slide 12. As David already mentioned, last week, we were delighted to receive the European Commission approval for Cabometyx in advanced pancreatic and extrapancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. This approval was based on the strong results of the CABINET study displayed here on the graph, which showed a significant improvement in median progression-free survival for patients treated with Cabometyx versus placebo. Working within the NET community for more than 35 years, we recognize that patients require multiple lines of therapy for this slow-growing and chronic form of cancer. We are now focused on bringing this important treatment to patients. Please turn to slide 13 and our pipeline. We continue to have a strong and differentiated pipeline that has advanced in all three therapeutic areas in the first half of 2025.
In oncology, we have established a strong expertise in the MAPK kinase pathway, starting with tovorafenib, a second-generation RAF inhibitor, and the FIREFLY-2 phase III study in untreated pediatric low-grade glioma patients. IP 1195, our newest third-generation RAF inhibitor, has entered the clinic in April. Alongside IPN1 194, which selectively inhibits ERK, also in the MAPK kinase pathway. Both IPN 1194 and IPN 1195 are being evaluated in a number of solid tumors. In rare disease, we continue to grow our rare liver portfolio, both in pediatric with Bylvay in biliary atresia and in adults in PSC and PBC with Iqirvo. I will share more on the ELMWOOD study in a minute and also update you on the FALKON study in FOP. In neuroscience, we continue to evaluate the potential of our portfolio in both chronic and episodic migraine.
We've also just shared that we have added a fourth phase II trial in our LANT program with CATALPA evaluating IPN10200 in cervical dystonia. Please turn to slide 14 for more details on the rare disease portfolio, starting with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, FOP. FALKON is a phase II registrational study evaluating the change in heterotopic ossification volume from baseline to 12 months and assessed by whole body CT scan. Importantly, fidrisertib selectively inhibits the mutated form of ALK2 that is found to be a driver in FOP. We expect this data to read out in the second half of 2025. Please turn to slide 15. With an update now on the rare liver disease portfolio, first starting with primary biliary cholangitis. At the recent EASL meeting, we shared late-breaking data from phase III elative study for Iqirvo in PBC .
Additional analysis showed that at week 52 of treatment, 67% of patients treated with elafibranor had a clinically meaningful improvement in fatigue compared with 31% of patients treated with placebo. Importantly, this effect was also shown to be independent of the reduction in pruritus. Alongside these data, we presented evidence from a comprehensive proteomic analysis that showed that PPAR- alpha activation is linked to the fatigue improvement in PBC . Please turn to slide 16. Moving to PSC. At EASL, we also shared the results of phase II ELMWOOD study evaluating the safety and efficacy of elafibranor in primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare liver disease that currently has no approved treatment options.
In this study, elafibranor showed a favorable safety profile and demonstrated dose-dependent efficacy at 12 weeks versus placebo across a number of endpoints. In particular, there was significant improvement in liver biochemical parameters, including alkaline phosphatase, shown on the graph on your left. In the center graph, there was stabilization of non-invasive markers, including enhanced liver fibrosis, ELF. Of note, the changes in ELF are greater in patients with moderate to severe fibrosis at baseline. Finally, the graph on the right showed a significant improvement in pruritus. This was observed using the worst HNRS score at the 120 mg dose. We are now engaging with regulatory agencies to decide on the next steps of our clinical development program for this indication. Please turn to slide 17.
In neuroscience, the next data readout is the LANTIC phase II, a multi-stage dose escalation study evaluating the safety and efficacy of IPN10200 in moderate to severe upper facial lines. The proof of concept is determined in stage one, where we are evaluating IPN10200 in glabellar lines, and we expect these data in the second half of 2025. Stage two of this study has already started and includes forehead and lateral canthal line. We're excited to see these results coming from stage one in the coming months, and a positive proof of concept will support phase III start. I would now like to hand over to Aymeric Le Chatelier for the details of our H1 financials. Turn to slide 18, please.
Thank you, Christelle, and hello, everyone. I will now take you through the detail of our financial performance in the first half of this year, as well as our guidance for 2025. Please turn to slide 19. We deliver another set of strong financial results in the first half across sales, core operating income, and cash flow. Our total sales over EUR 1.8 billion grew by 11.4% at constant exchange rate. Our core operating income grew by 21.9% to EUR 656 million, in line with our free cash flow, increasing also by 22% to EUR 483 million. Given this strong performance and our solid balance sheet with no debt, we now have, at the end of June, an updated firepower available for external innovation of EUR 3 billion. Let's go more in the detail of those financials in the following slides. Please turn to slide 20.
Starting with the P&L to core operating income, the growth in total sales of 11.4% at constant exchange rate translated into 9.7% at current rates, given the adverse currency movement, mainly from emerging markets. Gross margin increased by 2.1 percentage points, driven by a favorable product mix and higher order revenue from partners. R&D costs increased by 12.8% to reach a ratio of 20.1% of total sales, driven mainly by increased investment for Dysport in migraine, long-acting toxin in aesthetic and therapeutic, and our early-stage oncology assets. SG&A costs increased by only 5.6%, with a ratio to sales at 33.3%, improving by 1.3 percentage points, reflecting our commercial investment to support the launches, but also the impact of our efficiency programs. As a consequence, our core operating income increased by 21.9%, with a core operating margin standing at 36% of sales, an improvement of 3.6 percentage points.
Please turn to slide 21. IFRS operating income and consolidated net profit increased both by more than 40%, thanks to lower restructuring and other operating expenses, lower financial expenses, and despite impairment losses recognized for EUR 53 million in relation with discontinued early-stage assets, as well as slightly higher income tax. Please turn to slide 22. Finally, on cash flow, we continue to generate strong free cash flow this year and have a strong balance sheet with a cash position of EUR 488 million at the end of June. Free cash flow increased by 22.8%, driven by EBITDA growth, sound management of capital expenditures, and working capital. Net investment included payment related to regulatory and commercial milestones. With a net cash position of EUR 488 million at the end of June, and based on a maximum two-times net debt to EBITDA, we have a firepower of EUR 3 billion available for external innovation.
Let's now move to 2025 guidance and turn to slide 23. Based on this solid momentum in the first half of the year and that very strong performance, we are pleased to upgrade our full year 2025 guidance. First, we expect total sales to grow by more than 7% at constant exchange rate as compared to our previous guidance of sales growth above 5%. We assume also a negative impact of two points from currencies based on the latest exchange rates during the month of June. This guidance assumes, as indicated by David, a negative impact in H2 on Somatuline sales in the U.S. and in Europe, with a progressive resupply from the current generic and a potential entry of an additional generic. On the other side, we expect an accelerated sales growth from the rest of the portfolio, driven by the significant rollback of Iqirvo in the U.S.
and in Europe, as well as the growth of Cabometyx. On the other hand, we anticipate now a core operating margin greater than 32% of total sales as compared to more than 30% in our previous initial guidance. It assumes, however, a lower level of profitability in the second half of the year, including additional R&D expenses from potential early or mid-stage external innovation opportunity, additional commercial investment to support our launches, and a lower level of other revenue than in the first half of the year. With all of that, I will now hand over back to David. Please turn to slide 24.
Thank you, Aymeric. I will now move to the conclusion. Please turn to slide 25. We continue to deliver strong momentum and remain firmly on track to achieve our ambitions. I'd like to leave you with three key messages. First, we intend to continue growing our top line, fueled by the performance of our existing portfolio and launches. This consistent growth reflects our focus on execution and our ability to deliver across both commercial and medical fronts. Second, we remain committed to continuing our R&D investments and growing our internal pipeline while investing to support our current and future commercial launches. Finally, we have significant firepower to pursue external innovation. We remain disciplined but ambitious, and we are well positioned to seize the right opportunities to further strengthen our portfolio. With that, please turn to slide 26. This concludes our presentation, and we will now take your questions.
Operator, over to you.
Thank you very much. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by as we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Richard Vosser from JPMorgan . Your line is now open.
Hi, thanks for taking my question. Two questions, please. One on Somatuline. It seems like generics are always going to have supply issues. At what point do you think we can think about a substantial residual tail to the business? Where might that be? How should we think about the outlook, maybe beyond 2025 or 2026? I suppose the profitability of the business during that period. Then a second question on Iqirvo launch. Obviously going very strongly, how should we think about that and the level of use, maybe off-label in other indications that might come through going forward in the coming months? Thanks very much.
Thanks a lot, Richard. On your first question, I have to say, first of all, very pleased with our performance on Somatuline. It also shows that it is very difficult to produce compounds. We have observed that Pharmathen is only coming back very slowly, delivering to accounts in Europe and Cipla. They are slightly increasing. On some pharma, which had the approval last year in October, we do not see them on the market now. They are telling the market that they might come towards the second half in Europe. In the U.S., we have not heard anything. It is correct that Somatuline is holding up very nicely, but we just want to be careful.
Perhaps one day they are going to figure out how to produce it, and we will see a somewhat accelerated erosion. That is all I can say because we are not inside the production buildings of these companies, and it is hard to say how well they are doing on eventually ramping up. I would assume that there is going to be a tail in the future, even because of those reasons that it is so hard to produce. On Iqirvo, we are, as you said, on a really nice trajectory. We are off to a great launch in the U.S., but also outside of the U.S. We have had, outside of the U.S., a substantial advance versus Gilead. We have also seen the withdrawal of Ocaliva in Europe. That has accelerated things, for sure. We have been able to capture a lot of switch patients as well.
We are only about to launch now in other large markets. We just got the reimbursement in June in Italy and also in Spain. We are ramping up there. Things are going very well. In terms of off-label use, PSC, I guess you would allude to, because we have shown results in May at the EASL conference, which look very promising. We are going to discuss these results with the FDA and potential way forward in PSC. I cannot really comment on off-label, as you know. We are not promoting it, obviously. We can only have scientific exchanges through our MSLs when we get questions. So far so good. There is a lot of enthusiasm on Iqirvo. We also have shown new fatigue data. We analyzed the data with proteomics, and we believe the PPAR- alpha effect is actually linked to this fatigue effect, which is totally independent from pruritus.
That is also encouraging data. I am very positive on Iqirvo, I have to say. Thanks a lot for your question.
Thank you. Just a moment for our next question, please. Next, we have Xian Deng from UBS .
Thank you very much. Thank you for taking my questions. Just two, please. The first one on a couple of metrics. Now you've got the NET approval in Europe. How should we think about the cadence in the second half? Roughly, when are you thinking to launch? Can you actually launch immediately, given this is actually a drug that's already on market? Should we expect already uptake from Q3, or is this more going to be back and loaded? That's the first question. Second one on Dysport, please. What's the latest underlying trend in aesthetics that you've been seeing? Have you seen any softness in the U.S. from macroeconomics and anything else? Yes, thank you very much.
Yeah, hi, Xian. Thank you for your questions on Cabometyx. Obviously, we're very enthusiastic now launching into neuroendocrine tumor. This is an area that we know very well, obviously, because we have had a very long legacy with Somatuline in this. We know the KOLs very well. We can launch in Germany, as you know, immediately, because you can launch when you have the approval in Europe, in Germany. For the other markets, we will have also some payer discussions. It sometimes takes up to 12 months with payers in Europe outside of Germany to actually get the reimbursement. We're going to be ready to launch there as well. On Dysport, your question on the trend in AX, we don't really see a softening in the U.S.
We see that our partner, Galderma, is doing an excellent job in the U.S., gaining market share, but also outside of the U.S., gaining market share. We see a similar trend in the territories that we have in aesthetics, where we also see a nice growth. As I said, on Dysport, we expect short, mid, long-term really nice growth in aesthetics, but also in therapeutics. Next question, please.
Thank you. Just a moment for our next question. Next, we have Victor Floc'h from BNP .
Hey, thanks a lot for taking my question, Victor Floc'h from BNP Paribas Exane. Maybe first on Iqirvo, I was wondering if you could comment on the potential next step in PSC. I guess it's mainly tied to the Iqirvo IP situation. If so, what are your options to meaningfully extend Iqirvo LOE? If you can do it, what would be the other indication you would be looking at? My second question on the LANTIC` readouts later this year, any chance you could remind us what data you are expecting to share in the second part of the year? I understand it's going to be limited to the stage one. Can you confirm that out of those stage one data, it will be enough to have a clear view on the asset direction of action? Thanks so much.
Okay, thank you, Victor. On Iqirvo regarding next steps on PSC, as I said, we have presented the data, which was very encouraging, not just on ALP, but also on the fibrosis, which is what you want to see in PSC. We are going to have a discussion with the FDA in terms of potential trial design. On IP, as you know, we have orphan drug designation, but there is also method of use patent. If you would, for example, get an approval in PSC, and since this is a different dose, it's under 20 mg, we could also get another orphan drug protection there. This is what we are right now discussing. Regarding the LANTIC data, I will ask Christelle to comment.
Thank you, Victor. Yes, indeed, we're reading out the stage one of our LANTIC study that looks at the safety and efficacy in glabellar line. This study has a design that includes a follow-up of both our primary and secondary endpoints out to six and nine months. We're very excited to see that data coming. It's too early to comment on the outcome of the study. You have the design that gives you an idea of what we're really looking for, a differentiation at a longer duration of action that we've built in our study.
Thanks so much.
Thank you, Victor. Next question.
Thank you. Just a moment for our next question, please. Next, we have Charles Pitman from Barclays . Your line is now open.
Hi guys, Charles Pitman-King from Barclays . Thanks very much for taking my question. Two focusing just on your neurology portfolio. Firstly, a quick one on Dysport and the therapeutic. Wondering if you could just quantify that phasing impact from Brazil on your therapeutic results. I'm just wondering if that should unwind over to H2 2025 to kind of bring you back in line with that high single-digit flat top line growth you're targeting. Secondly, as far as the kind of long-acting neurotoxin strategy, can you give us a quick update on what the latest is as far as the arbitration with Galderma is? Thinking maybe just a bit more holistically, what is the kind of long-term goal here?
Assuming you're successful with the arbitration, do you see value in trying to produce your own distribution network for the aesthetic indications, or would you try and continue to leverage Galderma's distribution network? What are the associated investments that would be required to do that? Just a kind of connection to the investment on LANT, can you give us any breakdown of the impact of higher R&D costs in 2H as to why you're expecting such a step down in that EBIT margin for the full-year guide? Thank you very much.
Okay, thank you, Charles. Regarding Dysport phasing in Brazil, I'll let Aymeric elaborate.
Yes, so thank you for the questions. I think we are very pleased with the performance that we have in therapeutic, as you know, across the board, including the performance in the U.S. in spasticity, the performance also in Europe. I think the performance was impacted by some shipment phasing that we have with the Ministry of Health in Brazil. We're not going to provide the quantification exactly, but we expect that to stabilize by the end of the year. I think that overall in therapeutic, we expect Dysport to continue this high single-digit growth.
On the question of the long arbitration, we are expecting that the arbitration should read out probably towards the end of the year. We just have to be patient and then see what the arbitration is going to say. I can't really elaborate on longer-term aesthetics, etc., or partnering aspects because we first need to see the arbitration look and then see where we take it from there. Thanks a lot, Charles. Operator, next question.
Thank you. Just a moment for our next question, please. Next, we have Simon Baker from Rothschild & Co Redburn . Please go ahead.
Thank you for taking my questions. I'll try and squeeze three in if I may. Firstly, on Bylvay, I wonder if you could give us some idea of the split of revenues between indications. For Iqirvo, could you remind us how you see the relative size of opportunities in PBC and PSC? As you said, there is no currently approved treatment for PSC. You're probably three or four months ahead of Mirum in PSC. I just wonder how confident you are that you can be first to market and just give us some sort of idea of what would be a reasonable timeline to get to market. The final question was, you mentioned the U.S. share gains for Dysport. I wonder if you could give us a little bit more color on exactly what's behind that and where those are occurring. Thanks so much.
Okay, thank you, Simon. On Bylvay, we're not guiding on split of sales, etc., for competitive reasons, obviously. What I can say is that since we launched in PFIC first and Mirum launched in Alagille first, both companies are a bit more dominant in these two indications. We are now launching Iqirvo in Alagille in the U.S. We are gaining market share in the U.S., but also we will start to see the effect of the Iqirvo launch ex-U.S. in the coming months and years. Bylvay is on a really good track. We are going to reinforce also in the U.S. our in-field strengths to further push the product because we think the product has a really nice potential and we can penetrate even more with some more share of voice.
On Iqirvo, regarding your question on the size of PBC and PSC, the PBC market in second line is roughly 40,000 patients. In PSC, the first line indication, because you need to now compare first line, that would be the first product to be used in PSC because there is no other product. You have also 40,000 patients. The two market sizes are actually fairly similar. I didn't quite capture your logic on Mirum developing in PSC because that's not at all the same mechanism of action. We don't see that Mirum would have an effect on fibrosis or long-term outcome, which is really what you need to look for, not just pruritus. We do assume that Iqirvo also has a pruritus effect, which you have seen in phase II data.
Much more importantly, in PSC, you want to see an effect on the fibrosis on the long-term impact on your liver. That's going to, of course, take a bit of time, such a trial. We are going to discuss endpoints with FDA to look at exactly how we would structure that trial. We will come back to provide you more details. It's a bit too early to answer this question on timeline. Regarding Dysport and the U.S. market share, what is behind, I would say you should really ask Galderma, of course, if you want to have the details. What I can say is that I think they have done an excellent execution on the launch of Dysport. Dysport has a very strong perception in the market, so they are gaining market share.
Great, thanks so much.
Thank you. Just a moment for our next question, please. Next, we have Shan Hama from Jefferies . Your line is now open.
Hi there. Thank you for taking my questions. Two from me, please. If I could just push you a little bit on that arbitration. If the resolution isn't favorable to Ipsen, do you think there's scope to renegotiate with Galderma for better financials? Secondly, what's your outlook on Onivyde for the rest of the year and even into 2026? It looks like uptake is strained a little bit. Is this because of the physician preference for the original and cheaper regimen, or is it something else that is important for us to note? Thank you.
Thank you, Shan. On the arbitration, I really can't comment. As you know, whenever you are in a legal situation, you don't want to speculate on whatever could come out. I will have to park this for really after the arbitration readout, which should come anyway fairly soon. On your second question on Onivyde and regarding the longer term, as I said, we recognize that this is a bit of a slower penetration. There is, I would say, a bit of habit with modified folfirinox, especially in the academic centers. We have been presenting recently real-world effectiveness data, which look very good and actually very strong. We're also going to start doing more trials in the office space because we want to make sure that we show that also this drug can be used very well in the office space.
Of course, this is going to take a bit of time. We're also negotiating with payers to take away the hurdles that some of the payers have put in place. We have already had one smaller payer which has lifted this. We are still negotiating with other payers. It's going to take time to see the growth. We think it's a bit of a slower growth over time. Thank you for your question.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next, we have Florent Cespedes from Bernstein . Your line is now open.
Good afternoon. Thank you very much for taking my questions too, please. First, on M&A, as your firepower is improving over time, could you maybe elaborate a bit on your strategy? Is there the time to be maybe a bit more ambitious or to look for maybe bigger targets, or do you stick to your historical strategy? My second question is maybe a follow-up on the LANTIC trial. Just to figure out, could you maybe give a little bit more color about the timeframe? Because you have the stage two and the stage three. Do I have to understand that there will be first a stage two and then a stage three of the same patients, or is there anything that could be running in parallel? Any color on the timeframe would be great. Thank you.
Thank you, Florent. Regarding M&A, as you rightly outlined, we have a very significant firepower now. Regarding our ambitions, we will always look for the best science, and then we will make up our mind how we are going to split that firepower. Having said that, we want to continue doing deals over the full spectrum of preclinical, early clinical, late-stage clinical, but also on market. It gives us optionality, obviously, when you have more firepower on what you can do and how many deals you can do. That's actually quite a nice situation to be in. We are, of course, very actively screening for really nice scientific data of companies, and you will hear more once we have done one acquisition or we have done licensing deals. On LANTIC, I will hand over to Christelle regarding the design.
Thank you, Florent, for your question. Indeed, you are right. It's a three-stage study. Stage one, our proof-of-concept readout, is in glabellar line, and a positive proof-of-concept from that stage will support phase III start. In parallel, stage two is running in forehead line and lateral canthal line, two other lines of the face. That stage two will be followed by stage three, where we will study the full upper facial line, glabellar line, forehead line, and lateral canthal line. Just to be very specific again, the proof-of-concept in glabellar line will support phase III start in glabellar line. The others will come in parallel.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. I see no further questions at this time. I will now turn the conference back to David Loew, CEO, for closing remarks.
Thank you, everybody, for attending, and I hope you have a nice summer break. Thank you.
Thank you. This concludes the conference call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.