Bio company Aimed Bio said on the 6th that last year, on a consolidation basis, it posted revenue of 47.3 billion won and operating profit of 20.6 billion won. Compared with a year earlier, revenue rose about 300%, and it swung to a profit from an operating loss of 400 million won the previous year. The operating margin is about 44%.
Aimed Bio was listed on KOSDAQ in Dec. last year. Because of the nature of bio corporations focused on new drug development, many continue to post losses for a considerable period after listing, but the view is that it is meaningful that it recorded an operating profit in its first year on the market.
The latest results were driven by expanded technology transfer deals for Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) candidate substances that precisely strike cancer cells. In Oct. last year, the company signed a license-out agreement to transfer technologies including ODS02, an ADC candidate for solid cancer treatment, to C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG for up to $991 million. Earlier that Jan., it exported the technology for ADC candidate AMB302 to U.S. biotech BioPhaiven. Upfront payments and milestone revenue from these deals were reflected in the latest results.
The company expects additional stepwise revenue and long-term royalty (technology fee) revenue as its pipeline advances clinically.
The company's net profit last year was tallied at 4.2 billion won. It said an accounting valuation loss arising from the conversion of convertible preferred shares (CPS) and redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS) into common shares, due to a rise in corporate value before listing, was reflected. The company said, "As a non-cash expense that does not involve cash expenditure, it has no impact on operating activities or cash flow." It holds more than 170 billion won in cash and cash equivalents, and its liability ratio is about 3.4%.
Chief Executive Heo Nam-gu of Aimed Bio said, "As competition in new drug development ultimately becomes a competition in efficiency, the numbers show which direction Aimed Bio is heading," adding, "We will continue to focus on showing results."
The latest figures are preliminary; the final confirmed results will be disclosed through the business report after an external audit.
Aimed Bio is a bio company spun off from Samsung Medical Center in 2018, developing precision antibody and ADC new drugs. Previously, the "Samsung Life Science Fund," created with joint investment by Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis, and Yuhan invested in the company.
ADC is a treatment technology that attaches a drug to an antibody to deliver it precisely to cancer cells only. It consists of an antibody that homes in on cancer cells, a payload drug that kills cancer cells, and a linker that connects them. Because it can reduce adverse effects on normal cells while maximizing treatment efficacy, it is called a "guided missile that hits cancer cells."