On April 8th, the Stock Exchange hosted a themed performance briefing on the "biotechnology and medical industry." PharmaEssentia, which recently transferred from the counter to the market this year, stated that its consolidated revenue was NT$5.1 billion last year, a 77.15% year-on-year increase, with the US market's performance growing by 125%. It hopes that this year's revenue can replicate the growth momentum of last year and double its performance once again.
PharmaEssentia recently announced a consolidated revenue of NT$560 million in March, a decrease of 5.07% month-on-month but a year-on-year increase of 60.5%. March revenue mainly came from the US sales of the rare blood cancer drug Ropeginterferon alfa-2b (Ropeg); the cumulative first-quarter revenue was NT$1.65 billion, an 86.2% year-on-year increase, reaching a new quarterly revenue record.
CEO Ko-Chung Lin stated that over the past 20 years, PharmaEssentia has developed long-acting interferons using its core technology platform PEGlation. In addition to launching the new drug Ropeg for the treatment of polycythemia vera (PV) in the global market, it will continue to expand drug development for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) diseases, estimating that it will affect 325,000 patients worldwide in the next three to five years. Next, PharmaEssentia will further develop into the field of solid tumor treatment. Furthermore, under the leadership of Chief Scientist Li-Ling Lin, PharmaEssentia will also combine other cytokines such as IL2 (interleukin) to develop other protein drugs and will also develop cell therapy drugs.
Regarding the sales layout of Ropeg in the US this year, Chairman Ching-Liu Chan stated that PharmaEssentia's US subsidiary currently has more than 40 sales representatives, promoting it in eight regions across the United States, with more than 150 employees in the entire US subsidiary. Ko-Chung Lin explained that since obtaining US drug approval in 2021, Ropeg was originally targeted at large hospitals in the United States. However, it was later found that more than 40% of PV patients were unwilling to seek treatment at large hospitals. Currently, the company has shifted its focus to more extensive community hospitals.
PharmaEssentia stated that the company's performance has continued to grow significantly in recent years. However, in order to continue developing subsequent projects, its operating expenses were NT$6.4 billion last year, a 56% year-on-year increase. In order to achieve a turnaround to profitability as soon as possible, PharmaEssentia has controlled the growth rate of expenses to within 15% to 20% this year. In addition to the continuous growth in the US market, the Japanese market is also expected to perform well this year. It is hoped that the full-year revenue will replicate last year's growth momentum and double.
PharmaEssentia stated that Ropeg is also expected to obtain approval for PV in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia this year, entering the mainland China and Southeast Asian markets. It is currently actively planning marketing preparations, and the company strives to start making steady profits this quarter.
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