TaiMed Biologics Inc’s (中裕新藥) sales of its Trogarzo HIV treatment are forecast to boom this year after the European Commission on Thursday last week approved it to be marketed, the company said yesterday.
The company plans to begin marketing the drug in Germany this year, as the nation has friendly regulations on drug pricing, allowing companies to market products before wholesale prices are finalized, TaiMed chief financial officer Jack Chen (陳怡成) said by telephone.
Company partner Montreal-based Theratechnologies Inc has begun making connections with hospitals and patients in Germany, targeting sales of the drug by the end of this year or at the beginning of next year, Chen said.
Theratechnologies — TaiMed’s exclusive marketing and distribution partner in more than 30 markets, including the US, Canada and the EU — is to negotiate prices with regulatory bodies in Europe, he said.
The European price has been estimated at 30 percent lower than US$118,000 for a year of treatment in the US, he said.
Trogarzo is a fourth-line treatment and a drug that is designed for people with multi-drug resistance, TaiMed said.
The number of people in Europe with HIV/AIDS who are multi-drug resistant, which means they require alternative treatments, is estimated to be between 20,000 and 25,000, Chen said.
TaiMed is to pay US$5 million to US-based Genentech Inc as a milestone payment, as Genentech developed and licensed the antibody ibalizumab (TMB-355), a key ingredient of Trogarzo.
TaiMed posted revenue of NT$283 million (US$9.12 million) in the first half of this year and expects its full-year revenue to reach NT$800 million thanks to stable sales of Trogarzo in the US, Chen said, adding that the company started marketing the drug in the US in April last year.
It reported a non-operating loss of NT$43 million in the first half, due to a drop in the value of its stake in Theratechnologies, Chen said.
Gross margin fell to 17 percent for the first six months due to low production yield at contract manufacturer WuXi Biologics Co (無錫生物製藥), which is responsible for the production of Trogarzo, Chen said, adding that the yield improved in the third quarter.
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