Pamisel, Profit Slump This Year Due to Fire Impact... "Expect Recovery Next Year"

Pharmicell, a raw material supplier for ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapeutics, experienced poor performance this year due to a fire incident but is expected to improve its results starting next year.

According to a recent Pharmicell analysis report published by the Korea IR Association, Pharmicell’s profits are projected to decline this year compared to the previous year due to the impact of a fire at its nucleoside plant earlier this year. Sales of the high-margin product nucleoside decreased due to the fire at the nucleoside plant, and manufacturing costs increased.

It is estimated to achieve sales of 61 billion KRW and operating profit of 2.2 billion KRW this year. While sales are expected to increase by 1.3% compared to the previous year, profits are projected to decrease by 75.3%.

Dalmi Lee, a researcher at the Korea IR Association, analyzed, "Starting next year, as the nucleoside plant is fully operational, sales that were not recognized this year will normalize," and "mPEG orders are expected to increase based on additional facilities."

She added, "Pharmicell also possesses various clinical pipelines, including Harticelgram-AMI, a stem cell therapy for acute myocardial infarction, and Cellgram-LC, a stem cell therapy for liver cirrhosis currently in phase 3 clinical trials," and "there is anticipation that a second stem cell therapy will be commercialized in the future."

The biochemical division, which accounts for most of Pharmicell’s sales, produces nucleoside and mPEG, the basic raw materials for RNA therapeutics. Supported by the rapid growth of the RNA therapeutics market at an average annual rate of 17.6%, it serves as a cash cow.

The biomedical division consists of the stem cell therapy Harticelgram-AMI and stem cell cosmetics.

The researcher assessed, "Pharmicell’s stock price recorded an abnormal rise in the past due to benefits from COVID-19, but as those benefits disappeared, it is currently experiencing a sharper decline compared to the market."

A Pharmicell representative stated, "The maximum estimated annual sales of Imetelstat, a drug that uses nucleoside from the chemical division, reach 1.5 billion USD," and added, "It is evaluated as a blockbuster drug, so if successfully commercialized, demand for nucleoside is expected to increase."