Evoke Pharma (EVOK) and EVERSANA Announce Positive Findings from Second GIMOTI® Market Research Study

Evoke Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVOK), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on treatments for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, and EVERSANA™, a leading provider of global commercial services to the life science industry, today announced positive findings from a second market research study conducted for GIMOTI® (metoclopramide) nasal spray. The study aimed to gather further market insights on the perception of GIMOTI in the GI community and follows the initial market research study conducted in December 2020. The Company will discuss the findings in roundtable discussions at the upcoming GI ReConnect Conference, a leadership summit for sharing the most current information on GI health, being held on June 18-19th in Napa Valley, CA.

In May 2021, Evoke’s commercialization partner, EVERSANA, conducted the GIMOTI Awareness, Trial, Usage (ATU) Study, a quantitative survey designed to measure physician awareness, trial, and product usage of GIMOTI. The ATU survey was divided into four sections: the current approach to treating diabetic gastroparesis (DGP), prescribing behavior, treatment awareness, and additional perspectives around support resources.

The respondent mix included 67 gastroenterologists (GIs) currently being called on by the field sales force, and an additional 50 GIs and primary care physicians (PCPs), who are not currently targeted for in person messaging, but whom may be targeted through our online digital and social campaign. The study objectives were to understand the current gastroparesis treatment landscape and to evaluate physicians’ perceptions of GIMOTI following recent brand marketing efforts.

The study results consisted of 117 physician responses. Key findings, including select data point comparisons from the previous ATU Study conducted in December 2020, are outlined below.

Key Findings:

• Continued increase in intent to prescribe GIMOTI:- 81% of all respondents intend to prescribe GIMOTI in the future
  • 90% of targeted GIs; compared to 79% in previous study
  • 56% of non-targeted GIs; compared to 89% in previous study
  • 84% of PCPs; compared to 50% in previous study
• Targeted GIs report greater GIMOTI usage across first, second and third lines of treatment from the December 2020 study, with the most significant increase as a third-line treatment option from 16% to 24%.
• Similar to the previous study, GIs indicated a moderate-to-high level of concern about a diabetic gastroparesis patient’s ability to absorb oral medications, and estimated 20%-40% of their patients may experience this difficulty.
• The percentage of targeted GIs reporting high awareness of GIMOTI (scoring a 4 or 5 out of 5) has increased from 21% in December 2020 to 46% in May 2021.
• More than twice as many (47 versus 19) respondents reported that they have written a prescription for GIMOTI in the previous two months compared to the previous study.
• Targeted GIs report increased in-person visits by sales representatives. Importantly 75% of target GIs stated they would prefer future interactions to be in-person vs 64% in the previous study.

“We are encouraged by the latest ATU study findings as they demonstrate an increase in both the awareness and adoption of GIMOTI. Importantly, these data suggest that as the pandemic abates, our sales force is effectively gaining face-to-face access to our targeted GIs who express an understanding of potential benefits of GIMOTI for their diabetic gastroparesis patients. These results provide meaningful insights for our commercial team in their targeted sales efforts,” commented David Gonyer, R.Ph., Evoke Pharma President and CEO. “These data, in addition to the growing number of new prescribers and the strong refill rates we observed during the first quarter, further solidify our belief in GIMOTI’s ability to answer a critical unmet medical need. We look forward to sharing our findings with other prominent GIs at the upcoming GI ReConnect Conference later this month.”

“There is currently no cure for patients with diabetic gastroparesis. Delayed gastric emptying or vomiting can cause erratic absorption of orally-administered gastroparesis therapies as well as other drugs. GIMOTI is administered nasally and absorbed via the nasal membrane. Since nasal delivery bypasses the GI system, GIMOTI avoids the problem of unpredictable stomach emptying,” stated Beth Gardner, MD, community-based gastroenterologist in Sewell, NJ, “I’ve recently adopted GIMOTI into my treatment regime with some notable initial results. I’ve been switching patients that have failed oral treatment and more recently for a patient that was in and out of the emergency room with frequent vomiting. It’s impossible to know if an oral drug is able to be absorbed in this hard-to-treat patient population.”

“The studies we conducted measured an expanded awareness and adoption of GIMOTI as we continue to build GIMOTI’s presence within the market. I am equally encouraged by the improvement in awareness and intent to prescribe among healthcare practitioners (HCPs) who receive regular visits by our highly motivated sales team as well as those HCPs that are exposed to our innovative online digital campaign,” added Chris Quesenberry, Chief Commercial Officer. “The results of the market research follow the positive reception we received from physicians who express a desire for an alternative to existing oral therapies. They indicate that a nasal route of administration that can bypass the GI tract makes sense for this underserved patient population. We are excited to continue ramping our commercialization efforts and increasing awareness of GIMOTI to ensure that patients and their providers have access to this important therapy.”

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