SK biopharm swings to profit in Q3 on strong cenobamate sales

SK biopharm CI

SK biopharmaceuticals Co. announced on Friday that it posted an operating profit of 19.3 billion won ($13.94 million) for the third quarter, turning around from a loss of 10.7 billion won a year ago.

The company disclosed that its revenue jumped 51.2 percent to 136.6 billion won during the July-September period. It also managed to raise a net income of 6.3 billion won from a loss a year ago.

SK biopharmaceuticals attributed the positive results largely to the growth in sales of its epilepsy treatment cenobamate.

Third-quarter sales of the drug in the U.S. hit 113.3 billion won, up nearly 50 percent. By September, 53 months after cenobamate’s launch, monthly prescription volume had reached around 30,000—about double the rate for comparable new drugs at the same post-launch period.

SK biopharmaceuticals plans to expand its business into new therapeutic modalities and oncology.

The company has identified radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) and targeted protein degradation (TPD) as next-generation modalities and is actively pursuing research and development in these areas.