Drug maker OBI Pharma Inc (台灣浩鼎) yesterday said that it will start generating revenue this year, driven by the planned launch of its DIFCID antibiotic in Taiwan by the end of the second quarter.
The company has failed to post revenue since 2011, before its started trading its shares on the Emerging Stock Market in 2012.
“We are currently finalizing talks with the National Health Insurance Administration concerning drug prices, as well as with our suppliers regarding materials prices,” general manager Amy Huang (黃秀美) said.
However, Huang said that the market for DIFCID in Taiwan is small because antibiotics are not overused in the nation and it is not in need of new kinds of antibiotics.
The company could continue its loss-making streak this year, since it is expected to spend between NT$600 million and NT$700 million (US$19.77 million and US$49 million) on research and development. OBI Pharma said that most of the amount will be used to finance clinical trials for its drugs.
In the first half of last year, the company spent NT$177.82 million on research and development, according to its stock exchange filing.
Over the same period, OBI Pharma reported NT$202.47 million in losses, an increase from the NT$101.03 million in losses it posted a year ago that was the result of more spending on research and development, its filing showed.
The construction of Amaran Biotechnology Inc’s (潤雅生技) new factory in the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park (新竹生醫園區) will be operational at the end of this year after the factory receives Good Manufacturing Practice its (GMP) certificate from the government, Huang said, adding that the factory will make botox for OBI Pharma.
According to Huang, the company will complete data collection for phase-three clinical trails for OBI-822, which is used to treat breast cancer, in Taiwan by the end of June.
The company plans to file for a permit to sell OBI-822 in Taiwan in 2016 and in the US in 2018, it said.
The firm is to launch the cancer drug in the US, Taiwan and China on its own, but is seeking partners to sell the medication in Europe and Japan, it said.
OBI Pharma also acquired a new monoclonal antibody to treat cancer last year from Academia Sinica, Huang said, adding that the drug is in the pre-clinical trial stage.
It also has plans to shift to the GRETAI Securities Market by the end of this year.
OBI Pharma stock fell 1.51 percent to NT$227.94 yesterday on the Emerging Stock Market.
Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday introduced the company’s latest supercomputer platform, featuring six new chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), saying that it is now “in full production.” “If Vera Rubin is going to be in time for this year, it must be in production by now, and so, today I can tell you that Vera Rubin is in full production,” Huang said during his keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas. The rollout of six concurrent chips for Vera Rubin — the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform — marks a strategic
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
Garment maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of NT$7.93 billion (US$251.44 million), down 9.48 percent from NT$8.76 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, revenue fell 10.83 percent from NT$8.89 billion, company data showed. The figure was also lower than market expectations of NT$8.05 billion, according to data compiled by Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had projected NT$8.22 billion. Makalot’s revenue this quarter would likely increase by a mid-teens percentage as the industry is entering its high season, Yuanta said. Overall, Makalot’s revenue last year totaled NT$34.43 billion, down 3.08 percent from its record NT$35.52
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
RSS