Vaccine maker Adimmune Corp (國光生技) yesterday reported its first quarterly profit since its listing in 2010, thanks to robust sales of its quadrivalent flu vaccine Flublok.
The nation’s largest vaccine maker reported a net profit of NT$110.54 million (US$3.62 million) for last quarter on revenue of NT$506 million, up 60 percent from a year earlier, spokesman Pan Fei (潘飛) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Flublok is a quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine developed by US-based drug maker Protein Science Corp, a subsidiary of Sanofi SA, Pan said.
Adimmune helps handles Flublok’s formulation, including filling and packaging the vaccine.
PROTEIN SCIENCE
The company has seen its partnership with Protein Science increase over the past three years, as orders from the firm have continued to expand at a double-digit percentage pace, Pan said.
Gross profit was NT$206 million, translating into a gross margin of 40.82 percent, company data showed.
Aided by last quarter’s profits, net losses for the first three quarters of the year shrank from a year earlier to NT$258 million, or losses per share of NT$0.88.
Adimmune expects to stay in the black this quarter as sales expand after it starts supplying the quadrivalent flu vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) later this month, Pan said.
The company offered some vaccines at the end of last month to the CDC for quality checks and expects to provide more this month as the institution is to announce the first vaccination period starting tomorrow, he said.
Adimmune inked a contract with the CDC earlier this year to provide a total of 4.1 million doses of vaccines, which would generate revenue of NT$984 million, he said.
The company hopes to achieve that total by the end of this year, but it would depend on how soon people get the vaccines, he said.
TURNAROUND?
A full payment from the CDC this quarter would enable it to turn profitable this year, he said.
Overseas demand for next year is forecast to rise as the company begins marketing its quadrivalent flu vaccine following its approval last month by the Thai Food and Drug Administration, Pan said.
The company has formed a partnership with Thailand-based Bionet-Asia Co, which would be responsible for marketing the vaccine and helping the firm expand into other Southeast Asian markets, Pan said.
The company has no plans to set up a new plant in the region, as its Taiwanese plant’s production capacity is sufficient, he said.
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