ScinoPharm Taiwan (台灣神隆), which makes active pharmaceutical ingredients, yesterday reported 9 percent growth in net profit for last year, boosted by higher revenue contribution from drugs to treat breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Net profit expanded to NT$1.27 billion (US$42.03 million) last year, or NT$1.88 per share, up from NT$1.17 billion, or NT$1.73 per share, a year ago, ScinoPharm chief financial officer Patricia Chou (周珮芬) said during an investors’ conference.
Sales of active pharmaceutical ingredient for Irinotecan, which is used to treat colorectal cancer, surged twofold from 2012, making it the biggest revenue source of the company, ScinoPharm said.
The company sold US$10 million worth of Irinotecan to Japan last year, compared with US$5 million worth in 2012, Chou said.
Revenue from the ingredient for Exemestane, which is used to treat breast cancer, doubled last year from a year earlier as a new production line was launched, the company said.
Thanks to the strong revenue growth from the two products, the company’s revenue rose 11 percent to a historic high of NT$5.09 billion, compared with NT$4.57 billion in 2012, according to the company.
ScinoPharm aims to post a mid-to-high-single digit percent growth for its revenue this year, as seven new drugs using its active pharmaceutical ingredients are expected to hit the market, ScinoPharm president and chief executive officer Jo Shen (馬海怡) said.
The new products include Entecavir, a drug to treat hepatitis B that was developed by Genovate Biotechnology Co (健亞生技).
ScinoPharm aims to keep its gross margin between 45 percent to 50 percent in the long term, it said.
It plans to spend US$46 million to US$47 million to build a plant in Taiwan to make formulations and another US$50 million to US$60 million to expand a plant in Changshu, China.
In related news, drug and health product maker NatureWise Biotech & Medical Corp (彥臣生技) yesterday said that it has acquired patents from China and Russia for its histone deacetylases inhibitor, which can be used to treat cancer.
It said it already has patents for the inhibitor in the US, Europe and Taiwan.
NatureWise plans to license the inhibitor after its ready to enter phase one clinical trials within a year.
The company said it expects the inhibitor will generate sales of US$1 billion a year once it becomes a drug.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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