SK Biopharmaceuticals reports loss in 1st earnings call after IPO

An SK Biopharmaceuticals researcher examines an unidentified substance at the drug maker's lab in Gyeonggi Province in this undated file photo. Courtesy of SK Biopharmaceuticals

XCOPRI shows fast growth in US market

By Nam Hyun-woo

SK Biopharmaceuticals posted an expanded operating loss in its first earnings call after its successful initial public offering (IPO) last month, according to the company, Friday.

Though the numbers failed to live up to investors' high expectations, sales coming from its epilepsy treatment XCOPRI demonstrated fast growth, casting a rosy outlook on its future profitability, analysts said.

According to the SK Group unit, it posted 2.1 billion won ($1.77 million) in sales and 57.8 billion won in operating loss for the second quarter of this year. The sales declined by 68.26 percent year-on-year, and it turned to a loss from a 37.3 billion won operating profit in the second quarter of last year.

The company said, however, the second-quarter operating loss is an improvement of 11.2 percent from that of the first quarter, as it managed to cut sales and marketing expenses.

Over XCOPRI, which began U.S. sales in May, the company said the number of total prescriptions grew to 1,009 in June from 267 in May, showing a 278 percent growth. Comparing to rival epilepsy treatments, XCOPRI is showing a sharper growth in the number of prescriptions, the company said.

“Under the harsh market conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, XCOPRI is outpacing other epilepsy treatments which debuted in the market in the past decade in terms of early prescription results,” SK Biopharmaceuticals said.

XCOPRI played a critical role in SK Biopharmaceutical's successful listing, as it won a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval last November as a novel drug targeting a lucrative market. The company's stock price ended at 186,000 won on Thursday, which is nearly four times higher than its initial offering price of 49,000 won.

The company said the second-quarter sales declined due to a base effect stemming from a large-scale milestone income for the U.S. FDA's approval of its sleep disorder treatment Sunosi in the second quarter of last year. Also, Sunosi's sales, which began in July, did not affect the company's second-quarter earnings.

Over its future plans, the company said it will expand investments in discovering and developing new drugs for diseases related to the central nervous system, as well as expediting its development of anti-cancer drugs.