Latest news with #Vegzelma
Korea Herald
06-08-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Celltrion's Q2 net falls 19.3% on provisions
Celltrion, a major South Korean biopharmaceutical company, said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit fell 19.3 percent from a year earlier due to provisions related to ongoing legal disputes. For the three months ended June 30, net profit declined to 63.3 billion won ($45.6 million) from 78.4 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. "We set aside provisions in preparation for potential compensation related to ongoing legal disputes. These provisions impacted our quarterly bottom line," a company spokesperson said, without elaborating. Operating profit more than tripled to 242.5 billion won from 72.4 billion won, while sales rose 9.9 percent to 961.5 billion won from 874.7 billion won. The company said increased global sales of its flagship biosimilars, including Remsima SC, Yuflyma and Vegzelma, supported quarterly earnings. These high-margin products accounted for 53 percent of total sales in the second quarter. In the first half of the year, net income surged 73 percent to 171.6 billion won from 99.2 billion won a year earlier. Celltrion expects strong earnings to continue in the second half, as it plans to gradually launch five new biosimilars -- Omlyclo, Avtozma, Eydenzelt, Stoboclo and Osenvelt -- in global markets later this year. The company aims to achieve 5 trillion won in annual sales this year, up 40 percent from a record 3.56 trillion won last year. Celltrion has significantly expanded its global biosimilar portfolio, with the number of approved products rising from six to 11. It plans to commercialize 22 biosimilar products by 2030, when the global market is projected to grow to 261 trillion won from 138 trillion won this year. (Yonhap)
Otago Daily Times
16-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Grandchildren provide inspiration in cancer fight
Graham Tippen's greatest fear is his two-year-old granddaughter Lily not remembering him. Every moment is precious because he does not know how much time he has left. Cancer is the problem and if Tippen does not find enough money for treatment, he will have less time with Lily and his other grandchildren – Millie, 8, Mia, 9, and Henry, 7. 'I'm not sure if it's selfish or whatever, but I really want to do what I can to make sure she remembers me,' Tippen said. The 65-year-old found out he had rectal cancer in February 2020 after getting a scan because he was concerned about some bleeding. Another scan later revealed the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs. Tippen started chemotherapy on the first day of level four Covid-19 lockdown. Given only months to live, he has beaten the odds and has been living with cancer for more than five years. Tippen cherishes time with all his grandchildren along with his wife Chris and adult children, Laura and Ben. Tippen's life expectancy today is unclear, but there is a hope of holding off further tumour growth for a few months with a particular treatment regime. A small number of patients have responded especially well to the treatment and had tumour growth slowed for even longer. But the cost is steep – more than $11,000 a month for six months. Tippen requires the drugs Lonsurf and Vegzelma, neither of which are funded by Pharmac in his case. Pharmac pharmaceuticals director Geraldine MacGibbon said Vegzelma is funded for some types of inoperable liver cancer which have spread to other parts of the body. There had been no application to Pharmac for Lonsurf to be funded, she said. Tippen does not qualify for Vegzelma funding as his cancer originated in his rectum rather than his liver. His family has launched a Givealittle campaign to help cover treatment costs and possibly fund a short holiday for him and Chris. Tippen will start the treatment in coming weeks and will need five more monthly rounds. While he can pay for the first round of treatment with the help of insurance, the rest will need to be paid for through fundraising. Tippen is no stranger to the radiology field, having spent 18 years in IT at Pacific Radiology. Receiving treatment in the near-empty St George's Hospital on the first day of lockdown was surreal. 'Of course there's always a focus on patient first, but in my job there was not much patient interaction. So you sort of end up viewing people as numbers and not quite real,' he said. Tippen was nervous about treatment but was encouraged by the kindness shown towards patients. 'Being on the other side of the fence now, you really get to see what an amazing job the CT techs and MRI techs do handling the patients. There's a lot of care there,' he said. Before retiring on medical leave in 2022, Tippen helped maintain and monitor the complex computer systems inside MRI and CT scanners. These days, the most important thing for him is spending as much time as possible with his grandchildren. He is currently on school drop-off duty most days during the week and enjoys taking the grandchildren out on weekend activities. Like many families in similar situations, Tippen and his wife have considered the possibility of selling their home to help pay for the treatment. 'You have to really weigh all that stuff up. It's very hard to balance up the extra time you get with these drugs with selling the house off. My wife is in perfect health so I don't want to leave her with nothing,' he said.
Otago Daily Times
16-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
'Make sure she remembers me': Grandchildren inspire cancer battle
Graham Tippen's greatest fear is his two-year-old granddaughter Lily not remembering him. Every moment is precious because he does not know how much time he has left. Cancer is the problem and if Tippen does not find enough money for treatment, he will have less time with Lily and his other grandchildren – Millie, 8, Mia, 9, and Henry, 7. 'I'm not sure if it's selfish or whatever, but I really want to do what I can to make sure she remembers me,' Tippen said. The 65-year-old found out he had rectal cancer in February 2020 after getting a scan because he was concerned about some bleeding. Another scan later revealed the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs. Tippen started chemotherapy on the first day of level four Covid-19 lockdown. Given only months to live, he has beaten the odds and has been living with cancer for more than five years. Tippen cherishes time with all his grandchildren along with his wife Chris and adult children, Laura and Ben. Tippen's life expectancy today is unclear, but there is a hope of holding off further tumour growth for a few months with a particular treatment regime. A small number of patients have responded especially well to the treatment and had tumour growth slowed for even longer. But the cost is steep – more than $11,000 a month for six months. Tippen requires the drugs Lonsurf and Vegzelma, neither of which are funded by Pharmac in his case. Pharmac pharmaceuticals director Geraldine MacGibbon said Vegzelma is funded for some types of inoperable liver cancer which have spread to other parts of the body. There had been no application to Pharmac for Lonsurf to be funded, she said. Tippen does not qualify for Vegzelma funding as his cancer originated in his rectum rather than his liver. His family has launched a Givealittle campaign to help cover treatment costs and possibly fund a short holiday for him and Chris. Tippen will start the treatment in coming weeks and will need five more monthly rounds. While he can pay for the first round of treatment with the help of insurance, the rest will need to be paid for through fundraising. Tippen is no stranger to the radiology field, having spent 18 years in IT at Pacific Radiology. Receiving treatment in the near-empty St George's Hospital on the first day of lockdown was surreal. 'Of course there's always a focus on patient first, but in my job there was not much patient interaction. So you sort of end up viewing people as numbers and not quite real,' he said. Tippen was nervous about treatment but was encouraged by the kindness shown towards patients. 'Being on the other side of the fence now, you really get to see what an amazing job the CT techs and MRI techs do handling the patients. There's a lot of care there,' he said. Before retiring on medical leave in 2022, Tippen helped maintain and monitor the complex computer systems inside MRI and CT scanners. These days, the most important thing for him is spending as much time as possible with his grandchildren. He is currently on school drop-off duty most days during the week and enjoys taking the grandchildren out on weekend activities. Like many families in similar situations, Tippen and his wife have considered the possibility of selling their home to help pay for the treatment. 'You have to really weigh all that stuff up. It's very hard to balance up the extra time you get with these drugs with selling the house off. My wife is in perfect health so I don't want to leave her with nothing,' he said.
Korea Herald
09-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Celltrion logs strongest Q1 sales
South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion reported record first-quarter revenue and a sharp jump in profit, as robust global demand for its next-generation biosimilars improved margins. Operating profit soared a whopping 870 percent from a year earlier to 149.4 billion won ($107 million) in the January-March period, while consolidated revenue rose 14.2 percent to 841.9 billion won, the South Korean biopharmaceutical firm said Friday. The earnings boost was attributed to the end of amortization costs tied to past mergers, enhanced inventory management and strong performance from high-margin products. Sales of key biosimilars, including Remsima SC, Yuflyma and Vegzelma, climbed more than 62 percent from a year earlier. Yuflyma, a treatment for autoimmune diseases, posted more than 100 billion won in quarterly sales for the first time, rising 1.6 times year-on-year. Vegzelma, a cancer treatment, secured a 28 percent prescription share in Europe's oncology biosimilar market, despite its relatively late market entry. Celltrion plans to launch four new high-margin biosimilars in the second half of the year and begin full-scale production of titer-enhanced products. The company expects revenue from new and follow-up therapies to make up over 60 percent of total sales by year-end. In drug development, Celltrion's multispecific antibody CT-P72 demonstrated strong tumor suppression and low toxicity in preclinical studies presented at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research meeting. 'We've laid the groundwork for both quantitative and qualitative growth this year through strong performance from our next-generation biosimilars and cost-efficiency gains,' a company official said. 'With upcoming product launches and a solid new drug pipeline, we will continue to focus efforts on sustained growth.'
Korea Herald
28-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Celltrion's Vegzelma generates $56m in US, eyes growth in Europe, Latin America
Celltrion announced Friday that its metastatic colorectal and breast cancer treatment Vegzelma, which contains the active substance bevacizumab, generated over $56 million in revenue in the United States last year. According to data analysis from pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, Vegzelma achieved a market share of over 6 percent in the US by the end of last year. Out of Vegzelma's total annual revenue of 221.2 billion won ($151 million) in 2024, 75.8 billion won, roughly one-third, came from the US market. 'Despite being the fourth bevacizumab biosimilar to enter the US market, Vegzelma has achieved remarkable sales performance,' a Celltrion official said. 'This success is largely due to our US subsidiary's confidence in its direct sales capabilities, which has driven strong prescription performance particularly in the public insurance sector.' In the US, individuals aged 65 and older qualify for Medicare, a government-supported public health insurance program. Excluding private insurance-integrated Medicare plans, the pure Medicare market accounts for about 11 percent of the country's insurance sector. Since the market operates with government funding, treatment reimbursements are possible regardless of whether a drug is listed in an insurance company's formulary. Recognizing this, Celltrion's US subsidiary strategically analyzed Medicare's characteristics and intensified its marketing efforts in this segment. In Europe, Vegzelma entered the market two to three years later than competitors, but recently claimed the No. 1 position in market share. As of the third quarter last year, it occupied 29 percent of the European market, surpassing both the original drug and other competing biosimilars to become the most prescribed bevacizumab product. In Japan, within just one year of its launch Vegzelma secured 23 percent market share, ranking it second among biosimilar prescriptions by the end of last year. Celltrion plans to expand its footprint in Europe this year by launching Vegzelma in new markets, while seeking to reinforce collaborations with insurers in the US to improve reimbursement coverage. The company also aims to enter into Latin America and other regions to build a more stable revenue foundation.
