Samsung Bioepis said on the 26th that it posted an operating profit of 375.9 billion won last year. That was down 14% from a year earlier. Operating profit fell because milestones decreased. A milestone is revenue received when achieving results at each stage, such as clinical trials and approvals.
Samsung Bioepis' operating profit in the fourth quarter last year was 29.2 billion won, down 60%. Full-year and fourth-quarter sales last year were 1.672 trillion won and 429.4 billion won, respectively. They rose 9% and 8% from a year earlier. As overseas sales of biosimilars increased, it posted record results.
In Nov. last year, Samsung Group launched Samsung Epis Holdings, a holding company spun off from Samsung Biologics. Samsung Epis Holdings posted 251.7 billion won in two-month consolidation revenue and an operating loss of 63.6 billion won. It said it adjusted accounting during the spin-off process and losses occurred as research and development expenses increased.
A company official said, "Losses occurred as PPA (purchase price allocation) amortization was reflected in accounting during the corporations partitioning process," and noted, "It is unrelated to actual cash flow." PPA amortization means depreciating intangible assets such as research and development expenses.
Sixty percent of Samsung Bioepis' total sales come from Europe. Samsung Bioepis first introduced the autoimmune disease treatment SB4 in Europe in 2016. It has increased the number of products currently sold to 10, and sells four of them directly through local sales networks.
Samsung Bioepis introduced two products in the United States last year with a global pharmaceutical company, including a Stelara biosimilar. Stelara is an autoimmune disease treatment developed by global drugmaker Janssen. The Stelara biosimilar also signed a private-label contract under which a major pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) supplies the drug under its own brand.
Samsung Bioepis plans to expand biosimilars and its pipeline (new drug candidates) to 20 by 2030. It is pursuing new drug development in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) field, known as a guided missile that targets cancer cells. The goal is to enter at least one IND (investigational new drug application) each year.