[Click eStock] "Rekkirona Export Increase... Celltrion Healthcare 4Q Earnings Improvement Expected"

Rekkirona Records 150 Billion KRW in 4Q Sales
Omicron Efficacy Confirmation Remains a Future Variable

COVID-19 neutralizing antibody treatment Regkirona (Provided by Celltrion Healthcare)

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] With the sales of the COVID-19 neutralizing antibody treatment Regkirona being reflected, Celltrion Healthcare's fourth-quarter results for last year are expected to improve compared to previous estimates.

On the 10th, Samsung Securities maintained its investment opinion of 'Buy' and target price of 100,000 KRW for Celltrion Healthcare based on this background. The closing price on the previous trading day was 74,200 KRW.

The fourth-quarter results are forecasted to be consolidated sales of 595.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 74.7 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 53.9%, while operating profit decreased by 18.7%. With approximately 150 billion KRW in Regkirona sales reflected, the estimates were raised by 20.2% and 54.0%, respectively, compared to previous projections. Detailed sales are expected to be 258.3 billion KRW for Remsima and Inflectra, 90.2 billion KRW for Truxima, and 42.4 billion KRW for Herzuma. Remsima and Inflectra and Herzuma are expected to increase by 71.7% and 21.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, but Truxima is expected to decrease by 52.4% during the same period.

Geunhee Seo, a researcher at Samsung Securities, explained, "In the U.S., Truxima's sales were partially affected in the fourth quarter by price reductions in the previous quarter. However, Inflectra sales in the U.S. are steadily growing, and with Regkirona's export contracts increasing after approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), sales of about 150 billion KRW are reflected, contributing to improved performance."

The key issue is whether Regkirona's effectiveness against the new Omicron variant will be further confirmed. In experiments at the University of Washington in the U.S., Regkirona showed minimal effectiveness against the Omicron variant, whereas Pfizer's oral COVID-19 treatment 'Paxlovid' demonstrated efficacy. Celltrion is conducting its own efficacy verification against the Omicron variant. Researcher Seo stated, "Domestically, the proportion of the Omicron variant is low, and considering the timing and price of Paxlovid's introduction, Regkirona prescriptions are expected to be maintained in the short term. However, as Omicron becomes the dominant strain with over 90% of new patients in the U.S. being infected with it, preference for treatments effective against Omicron is expected to increase in the future."

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