Celltrion delivers best Q1 performance on high demand for Remsima SC

Celltrion Inc.’s Remsima SC [Photo provided by Celltrion]

South Korean biosimilar developer Celltrion Inc. on Monday posted record earnings in the first quarter on the back of strong demand for its Remsima SC, a variation of the existing autoimmune disease treatment Remsima, and blood cancer therapy Truxima.

Celltrion announced that it raised an operating profit of 182.3 billion won ($137.8 million) in the first quarter, up 41 percent from the same period a year ago, on sales of 597.5 billion won, up 12.4 percent. It is the best performance for the first quarter.

Celltrion’s sales of biosimilars exceeded 400 billion won for the first time in the January-March period thanks to high demand for flagship products in overseas markets such as Remsima SC and Truxima.

Sales of biosimilars jumped 49 percent in the first quarter from a year ago led by highly profitable Remsima SC.

“The combined market share of Remsima and Remsima SC is about 70 percent, and their success in the European market is expected to help with the entry into the U.S. market,” said an unnamed official from Celltrion.

Remsima SC is being reviewed for new drug approval in the U.S. The procedure is expected to be completed in October.

Celltrion plans to continue to improve its earnings by speeding up the clinical and approval procedures for other drugs.

The company has released six biopharmaceutical products in the global market and will launch five more by 2025. It plans to invest also in antibody drug conjugates (ADC), bispecific antibody and antibody new drugs, and microbiomes in addition to biosimilars to grow into a new drug company.

“We are continuously pursuing open innovation with domestic and foreign companies and focusing on research to develop oral antibody treatments and anticancer viruses,” said an official from Celltrion.

“As a group, we are also considering global mergers and acquisitions to enhance business competitiveness.”