Pharmaceutical Jackpot
Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., a leading South Korean drugmaker, tentatively announced on February 4 that its sales amounted to 1.32 trillion won (US$1.1 billion) last year, up 73 percent from the previous year's 761 billion won (US$634.96 million), while its operating profit and net profit reached 211.8 billion won (US$176.72 million) and 162.2 billion won (US$135.34 million), respectively.
The remarkable feat was possible largely due to partial down payments from mega licensing-out deals of the Quantum Project and HM12525A, which were signed with Sanofi and Janssen in November last year, and improved performance of new products, including Rovelito, its new combo drug against high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, and at its Chinese subsidiary Beijing Hanmi.
As the company used partnering companies to outsource its global trials of major new pipeline products, improving cost efficiency, Hanmi Pharmaceutical spent 187.1 billion won (US$156.11 million) on research and development last year. Although the R&D investment increased 23 percent from a year earlier, the ratio of R&D investment to sales was reasonable at 14.2 percent with a significant increase in cumulative sales.
An official from Hanmi Pharmaceutical said, “As the company clinched seven mega licensing deals of new drugs last year, Hanmi Pharmaceutical achieved the largest sales since its foundation. With steady investment based on the open innovation strategy and balanced market invasion at home and abroad, we will make every effort to establish a sustainable growth model.”