SK bioscience said on the 6th that first-quarter consolidation sales came to 168.6 billion won, up about 9% from a year earlier. The operating loss widened to 44.5 billion won from 15.1 billion won in the same period last year.
The wider loss was largely due to higher research and development (R&D) expense. The company transferred its headquarters and research organization to the Songdo Global R&PD Center and moved forward in earnest with its pneumococcal vaccine clinical trial. Investment to improve operating efficiency at German CDMO subsidiary IDT Biologika was also reflected.
Sales were driven by the CDMO business and vaccine distribution. IDT is expanding its customer portfolio based on collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies. However, expense increased during process optimization and organizational restructuring, weighing on short-term profitability.
The in-house vaccine business maintained a steady trajectory. The influenza vaccine "Skycellflu" secured stable demand, including exports to the Southern Hemisphere. The shingles vaccine "Skyzoster" increased its domestic market share, and the varicella vaccine "Skyvaricella" sustained overseas sales based on supply to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Distribution of Sanofi vaccines from the global pharmaceutical company also grew. The RSV preventive antibody "Beyfortus," along with the hexavalent combination vaccine "Hexaxim" and the Tdap vaccine "Adacel," continued to sell on the back of the national immunization program and private demand. The quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine "MenQuadfi" was also added to the portfolio.
The company plans to expand its CDMO business centered on IDT and pursue global markets by developing its vaccine pipeline.