The biotech industry is entering a period of significant growth, with Bora Pharmaceuticals, Lotus Pharmaceutical, and Great Tree Pharmacy surpassing NT$10 billion in revenue during the first three quarters of this year. Analysts predict that Grape King Bio and PharmaEssentia could follow suit in Q4, reaching the NT$10 billion mark as well. As the peak sales season for biotech approaches, these five companies are projected to hit new revenue highs for the year.
Analysts believe that with the traditional biotech sales season underway, both Bora Pharmaceuticals and Lotus Pharmaceutical are well on their way to achieving NT$20 billion in revenue. Great Tree Pharmacy's annual revenue is expected to challenge NT$17 billion, while Grape King Bio and PharmaEssentia are striving to reach NT$10 billion in sales.
In September, Bora Pharmaceuticals led the top five biotech companies in revenue growth. Benefiting from two U.S.-based acquisitions earlier this year, Bora posted a record NT$2.023 billion in consolidated monthly revenue for September, nearly doubling its growth year-on-year. Other top performers include Great Tree Pharmacy, Grape King Bio, Lotus Pharmaceutical, and PharmaEssentia. For the first three quarters of 2024, Bora, Lotus, and Great Tree were the standout companies, all reaching NT$10 billion in sales.
Bora Pharmaceuticals set a new record in September with NT$2.023 billion in revenue, pushing its total revenue for the first three quarters to NT$13.499 billion, a 22.79% increase year-on-year. Key growth drivers include the consolidation of its U.S. subsidiary, USL, in April, and the acquisition of Emergent BioSolutions' sterile injectables plant in August. With growth in both its CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) and global sales, analysts are optimistic that Bora will surpass NT$20 billion in annual revenue, marking a new milestone in the biotech industry.
Lotus Pharmaceutical posted NT$1.186 billion in revenue for September, a 7.8% year-on-year increase, ranking fourth for the month. However, its revenue for the first three quarters reached NT$14.175 billion, the highest among biotech companies, up 4.7% year-on-year. Q3 revenue alone hit NT$5.234 billion, a 10.4% increase from the previous quarter. Driven by strong demand for cancer drugs outside the U.S. and a surge in U.S. sales of the anti-leukemia drug Lenalidomide, analysts are optimistic that Lotus could hit the NT$20 billion mark in total revenue for 2024.
Great Tree Pharmacy, Taiwan's leading pharmacy chain, achieved NT$1.428 billion in revenue for September, a 5.79% year-on-year increase, bringing its total revenue for the first three quarters to NT$12.755 billion, up 6.87% year-on-year. In the first half of 2024, Great Tree opened 24 new stores, bringing its total number of locations to 357. The company aims to reach 400-420 stores by the end of the year, with its accelerated expansion expected to boost business performance.
Grape King Bio achieved a record NT$1.232 billion in consolidated revenue for September, a 61.02% year-on-year increase. Q3 consolidated revenue reached NT$2.9 billion, the best for the period, representing a 5.11% quarter-on-quarter growth and a 13.66% year-on-year increase. For the first nine months of 2024, Grape King Bio's revenue totaled NT$8.005 billion, up 7.67%, setting a new record for the period. Growth was primarily driven by price adjustments for certain products at its subsidiary, Pro-Partner, which sparked a surge in pre-price-increase purchases.
PharmaEssentia saw the highest growth rate among the biotech top five, with September revenue hitting NT$930 million, up 132% year-on-year. This growth was largely due to the U.S. sales of its rare blood cancer drug, Ropeginterferon alfa-2b (Ropeg). For the first three quarters, PharmaEssentia's revenue reached NT$6.67 billion, a 92.9% year-on-year increase, with even stronger growth expected in Q4.
Resource (mandarin): Q4銷售旺季到 生技五強今年營收拚新高
