Celltrion Healthcare Q1 Operating Profit 31.5 Billion KRW...43.5% Decrease YoY

"Temporary Adjustment of Supply Schedule to the US Causes Operating Profit Margin Decline"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Celltrion Healthcare announced on the 17th that its operating profit for the first quarter of this year was 31.5 billion KRW, a 43.5% decrease compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales decreased by 0.5% to 356.3 billion KRW, and net profit was recorded at 31.5 billion KRW.

The company explained, "Operating profit margin declined due to a temporary adjustment in the supply schedule to the U.S. and the occurrence of one-time costs," adding, "However, since major events such as new product launches and expansion of sales regions for existing products are upcoming this year, performance growth is expected to continue."

First, ‘Remsima SC,’ which has completed its launch in five major European countries, began to see a significant increase in prescriptions starting from the second quarter, and by the end of the second quarter, it will enter the North American market, the world's largest pharmaceutical market, through its launch in Canada. Additionally, it is scheduled to be launched in Australia in the third quarter. As Remsima SC is set to expand its sales regions globally, it is expected to contribute to Celltrion Healthcare’s performance growth.

The Humira biosimilar 'Yuflyma' is also scheduled for full-scale launch in European markets such as Spain starting from the second quarter of this year. Yuflyma is the only high-concentration biosimilar with the same formulation as the original drug. Compared to Humira, which still accounts for more than half of the European market, it has price competitiveness, and in the low-concentration market where biosimilars compete, it has differentiated competitiveness as a new type formulation that reduces the drug dosage by half.

Furthermore, starting with Pakistan this month, global sales expansion of the COVID-19 treatment drug Rekirona is also anticipated. Additional export negotiations are underway with multiple countries.

A Celltrion Healthcare official stated, “At the beginning of this year, Remsima and Truxima successfully won government tenders in Singapore and are supplying exclusively, and Herzuma in Malaysia is also supplying exclusively. In Japan, Herzuma recorded a market share of 47% just two years after its launch, showing clear achievements in the Asian region,” adding, “While global sales of existing major products continue to increase steadily, we will maintain continuous growth this year through follow-up products that will lead our sales growth and profit improvement.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.