United Therapeutics Corp UTHR

No-Moat United Therapeutics Faces Pressure Amid Patent Expirations and Branded Competition

United Therapeutics specializes in therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. The company's therapies for PAH largely focus on the prostacyclin pathway, and many of its treatments are based on the molecule, treprostinil. Its marketed PAH portfolio includes Remodulin (subcutaneous or intravenous administration), Tyvaso (inhaled), Orenitram (oral), and Adcirca (oral). The company also sells Unituxin for high-risk neuroblastoma, but we do not consider oncology to be United Therapeutics' core competency. The company has long been a leader in the prostacyclin market for PAH, but we expect its competitive position will be challenged by generic entry as well as Johnson & Johnson's Uptravi, which J&J gained through its acquisition of Actelion in 2017. Uptravi (oral selexipag) has quickly gained share, propelled by strong clinical data, and we expect it will remain a key competitor against United's products, particularly pipeline candidate ralinepag.