Pamicell Reports Record First Half Operating Profit of 4.6 Billion KRW Driven by Increased API Sales

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Pharmicell achieved strong performance in the first half of this year, driven by increased sales of nucleoside raw pharmaceutical materials. Operating profit surged as nucleoside sales increased due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Pharmicell announced on the 13th that its operating profit for the first half of this year rose 162% compared to the same period last year, reaching 4.6 billion KRW. Net profit for the same period increased by 83% to 3.8 billion KRW. Sales for the first half were recorded at 20.9 billion KRW.

Sales of raw pharmaceutical materials produced by the Chemical Division increased by more than 80% compared to the same period last year. The Chemical Division's sales for the first half reached 19.6 billion KRW, and operating profit was 7.3 billion KRW, already surpassing last year's total operating profit of 7 billion KRW for the Chemical Division.

By product category, nucleosides achieved sales of 7.6 billion KRW, exceeding last year's annual nucleoside sales of 7 billion KRW. The growth in sales is expected to continue in the second half due to increased demand for COVID-19 diagnostic kits and the growth of the RNA therapeutics market.

mPEG also recorded sales of 3.3 billion KRW, surpassing last year's annual sales of 2.9 billion KRW. Since March, commercial supply to the multinational pharmaceutical company UCB has been fully launched, and the order volume from Merck, a business partner, has increased. Since new drugs using mPEG cannot be replaced by other substances, steady supply contracts with major trading partners and the resulting profit growth are also expected.

A Pharmicell official stated, “With promising pipelines this year, such as next-generation anticancer immune cell therapeutic vaccines and stem cell treatments for erectile dysfunction entering Phase 1 and Phase 2 commercialization clinical trials respectively, expectations for the mid- to long-term growth of the Bio Division are high.”

He added, “We will also focus our capabilities on obtaining marketing approval for the alcoholic liver cirrhosis stem cell treatment, which is awaiting Phase 3 approval,” and “We will do our best to enhance corporate value.”