(LEAD) Celltrion Q2 net profit up 77 pct on robust Truxima sales

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SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- Celltrion Inc., a major South Korean biopharmaceutical firm, said Friday that its net profit jumped 77 percent on-year in the second quarter on the back of robust sales of its blockbuster biosimilar, Truxima.

Net profit came to 138.6 billion won (US$117 million) during the April-June period on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 83.4 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Celltrion said its operating profits more than doubled to a quarterly high of 181.8 billion won. Its sales also rose 82.5 percent to a quarterly high of 428.8 billion won.

The company said the sales of Truxima in the U.S. market greatly increased, with its market share reaching 16.4 percent in the quarter.

Truxima is used in the treatment of a number of diseases in adult patients, including rheumatoid arthritis and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, the company said.

Truxima is a biosimilar drug based on Rituxan, originally developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding Ltd. The drug, launched in November 2019, is the first FDA-approved rituximab biosimilar sold in the U.S.

Truxima was also the first biosimilar cancer drug to hit the European market in 2017. The drug is sold in 28 European Union countries and set to reach the Middle East market.

The market share of Truxima in the European market reached 40 percent during the cited quarter, according to separate industry data.

khj@yna.co.kr
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