Sam Chun Dang Pharm said on the 18th that on a separate basis, first-quarter sales were 45.5 billion won and operating profit was 2.4 billion won. Compared with the first quarter a year earlier, sales rose about 25%, and operating profit swung to a profit.
On a consolidation basis, first-quarter sales were 64.8 billion won and operating profit was 5.4 billion won. Net profit came to 6.9 billion won. Based on the disclosed sales table by product, ophthalmic drugs accounted for about 78% of first-quarter sales.
The company said the Eylea (ingredient name Aflibercept) biosimilar (biosimilar) Vgenfli (SCD411) drove the improvement in results. According to the company, in the first quarter this year, the Eylea biosimilar posted 10.5 billion won in sales and 3.8 billion won in operating profit.
However, that was a decrease from the fourth quarter last year, when sales were 10.7 billion won and operating profit was 4.7 billion won.
The company said first-quarter results were affected by responses to good manufacturing practice (GMP) regulations at its overseas contract manufacturing organization (CMO) and logistics disruptions caused by the Iran–U.S. conflict.
A company official said, "Production was halted from mid-February to the end of March due to a regular inspection under the CMO institution's GMP regulations, and as geopolitical risks hindered smooth exports to Europe, export volumes temporarily fell." The official added, "As the supply schedule for those volumes has normalized, results will be reflected sequentially from the second quarter."
Sam Chun Dang Pharm launched Vgenfli (SCD411) in Canada in September last year. It then obtained European marketing authorization for Vgenfli (SCD411) in August that year.
A company official said, "From the second quarter of this year, revenue from the European market will also be fully reflected," adding, "With supply chains normalizing and sales expansion in the European market, we expect the trend of improving results to become clearer toward the second half."