SK Biopharmaceuticals Posts Q3 Operating Profit of 116.3 Billion Won, Up 66% YoY

Third-quarter revenue of 258.4 billion won, operating profit of 116.3 billion won
Xcopri U.S. sales up 26% year over year

SK Biopharmaceuticals posted quarterly operating profit of more than 100 billion won for the first time, buoyed by strong U.S. sales of its epilepsy treatment Xcopri.

SK Biopharmaceuticals said on Nov. 5 that it recorded consolidated revenue of 258.4 billion won and operating profit of 116.3 billion won in the third quarter. The figures were up 34.8% and 65.9%, respectively, from the same period a year earlier. Quarterly operating profit exceeded 100 billion won for the first time, excluding quarters that included one-off gains, while cumulative operating profit for the first three quarters also surpassed 300 billion won.

SG&A expenses in the third quarter totaled 133.1 billion won, down 2.1 billion won from the previous quarter. Cumulative SG&A expenses came to 392.2 billion won, about 69% of the full-year guidance of 570 billion won.

Third-quarter U.S. sales of cenobamate, marketed as Xcopri, totaled $156.81 million, up 4.9% from the previous quarter and 26.4% from the same period a year earlier in dollar terms. Due to the weaker exchange rate, sales in won fell 0.3% from the previous quarter but rose 29.9% year over year.

U.S. sales so far this year reached $441.29 million, about 76% of the upper end of the full-year sales guidance of $580 million. SK Biopharmaceuticals said it sees a strong possibility of reaching the upper end of its guidance given the current growth trend. However, considering factors such as gross-to-net (GTN) deductions concentrated in the fourth quarter, it kept its full-year guidance unchanged at $550 million to $580 million.

Total prescriptions (TRx) in the United States reached about 152,000 in the third quarter, up 6.0% from the previous quarter. The monthly average number of prescriptions for the quarter exceeded 50,000 for the first time, while new patient prescriptions (NBRx) averaged about 1,800 per month.

Lee Donghoon, CEO of SK Biopharmaceuticals, said, "Operating profit is growing rapidly despite increased investment in technology licensing and research and development (R&D), and we are now building cash reserves at a pace that allows us to make substantial investments. We are moving beyond the success of a single product and strengthening a virtuous cycle in which we extend the value of our direct-sales platform to our next product and reinvest the proceeds in R&D for follow-on drugs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.