Standard Chemical and Pharmaceutical Co (生達化學) plans to sign seven technology transfer contracts in China this year as it tries to increase revenue from overseas markets with higher drug prices.
“Our revenue in China, the biggest foreign market, dropped last year as the Chinese government implemented tougher regulations on the use of antibiotics, driving down sales,” Standard Chemical general manager Roy Fan (范滋庭) told an investors’ conference on Thursday.
The generic drugmaker reported consolidated revenue of NT$3.57 billion (US$115.8 million) for last year, down 7 percent yesr-on-year, with overseas revenue declining 8 percent to NT$686.1 million from NT$745.7 million in 2017, company data showed.
The company has begun transferring its drugmaking technology to peers in China and regards the move as a new engine to generate revenue, Fan said.
Standard Chemical, which signed two contracts in 2017 and another five last year, has received half of the combined payments totaling NT$100 million, Fan said, adding that this year’s contracts would be for a similar amount.
The company would help Chinese firms pass the Chinese regulator’s generic drug quality and therapeutic assessments, Fan said.
“We have hundreds of drug-making technologies, but not every item can be transferred to China. We only pick those related to the drugs we do not intend to sell on the market,” chief finance officer Daniel Kuo (郭龍章) said.
The Chinese generic drug market has been growing rapidly, but competition is intense, Kuo said.
Over the past two years, about 58 companies applied to the Chinese regulator to produce the high-blood pressure medicine amlodipine, he said.
“We have a competitive edge, as we are good at making generic drugs that other companies are not competing over,” Kuo said.
The firm reported steady revenue in Japan last year.
As for the Taiwanese market, sales of Latuda, a medicine for bipolar disorder, are expected to double to NT$100 million this year due to robust demand, Fan said.
Standard Chemical reported net profit of NT$374.35 million for last year, up 3 percent from a year earlier, as foreign-exchange gains of NT$129 million helped offset revenue declines. Earnings per share were NT$2.09.
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