April 17, 2024
Bio
Celltrion remains most profitable pharma firm
[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion has maintained the top position in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry in terms of operating profit for the sixth consecutive year since 2011, industry data showed on April 5.
It posted 252.7 billion won (US$224.76 million) in operating profit last year, the largest amount among 81 listed pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in South Korea, according to Pharmscore, a health care market research company.
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Park Hyun-koo/The Investor |
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The firm’s strong profit stemmed from increasing sales of its first biosimilar Remsima, referencing Johnson & Johnson’s drug Remicade, which hit the biggest biosimilar markets of Europe and the US.
According to Celltrion, the number of European patients who were prescribed Remsima reached 82,000 as of end-March this year, accounting for 30 percent of 260,000 people who were administered the originator drug Remicade.
ST Pharm and Medytox ranked second and third with operating profits of 77.8 billion won and 73 billion won, respectively.
By sales, Yuhan was the largest pharmaceutical company among the 81 firms, posting 1.32 trillion won last year, followed by Green Cross and Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical.
By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)
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