April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen, is likely to swing to black in 2018 as its biosimilar products start to bear fruits, according to a local securities firm on Jan. 30.

Korea Investment & Securities estimated that the biopharma firm would report a net profit of 33 billion won (US$30.82 million) this year after six consecutive loss-making years since it was founded in 2012. 

The main driver of profit will be Benepali, its copy version of Amgen’s anti-inflammatory Enbrel, which has been aggressively increasing market share in Europe. The biosimilar reported a 269 percent jump in sales to US$370.8 million last year, taking away a 30 percent market share of the original drug.

Among the company’s deep biosimilar pipeline with six drugs, its knockoff of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade named Flixabi and Benepali are marketed in EU while Ontruzant, which references Roche’s Herceptin, received European regulatory approval for the treatment of breast cancer in November.

“Its Herceptin biosimilar will also contribute to the improvement in the financial performance as it is expected to hit the European market in the first quarter,” said Jin Hong-guk, an analyst at the brokerage firm.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)