Esperion Surges After Forecasting Up to 38% Revenue Growth
Company projects strong 2025 sales for its cholesterol-lowering drugs, citing momentum from an expanded FDA label and robust prescription uptake.
Shares of Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR) climbed in Tuesday trading after the pharmaceutical company announced a strong revenue forecast for 2025, signaling that its cholesterol-lowering therapies are gaining significant commercial traction.
In a business update provided at the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Esperion projected its full-year 2025 U.S. net product revenue to be between $156 million and $160 million. The forecast represents a substantial 35% to 38% increase compared to its 2024 performance, suggesting robust momentum for its key drugs, NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe).
The Ann Arbor-based company’s stock rose towards its 52-week high on the news, as investors reacted positively to the guidance which underscores a period of sustained growth. Esperion’s management attributed the optimistic outlook to strong prescription uptake throughout the second half of 2024, a trend enabled by a critical label expansion from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier that year.
In March 2024, the FDA approved broader labels for NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET, allowing their use for cardiovascular risk reduction in a wider patient population, including those in primary prevention who have not yet had a heart attack. This significantly widened the addressable market beyond just patients who are intolerant to statins, the long-standing standard of care for high cholesterol.
This regulatory win appears to be translating directly into sales. The company reported a 12% increase in total prescriptions during the third quarter of 2024 compared to the second. That momentum, combined with broad insurance coverage—now reaching 92% of commercial and 65% of Medicare lives—has set a strong foundation for 2025.
"This guidance validates our commercial strategy and the growing physician adoption of our therapies," the company stated in its official business update. The company also reported a healthy cash position of approximately $168 million at the end of 2025, providing a solid operational runway.
Wall Street has largely maintained a bullish stance on the company. Analyst consensus holds a "Moderate Buy" rating, with an average 12-month price target of $6.50, implying significant upside from its current trading level of around $3.88 per share. Bempedoic acid, the active ingredient in Esperion's drugs, competes in a market projected to reach over $5 billion by 2029, offering a substantial runway for growth if the company can continue to execute.
However, the company’s marketing efforts recently drew regulatory scrutiny. In January, the FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion issued an untitled letter regarding a television advertisement for NEXLIZET. The agency flagged a claim that the drug was "the only nonstatin FDA-approved" for certain indications as potentially misleading, noting the existence of other nonstatin treatments like PCSK9 inhibitors. While not a severe enforcement action, the letter requires the company to address the agency's concerns and highlights the competitive communications landscape.
Despite this minor setback, investors appear focused on the fundamental growth story. The strong revenue forecast, backed by solid prescription trends and a pivotal label expansion, suggests Esperion is successfully carving out a meaningful share of the multi-billion dollar cardiovascular market.