Biocon Q3 profit rises 13% to Rs103 crore
The company posted a net profit of Rs103 crore in the fiscal third quarter, compared with Rs91crore a year earlier
Hyderabad: Biocon Ltd’s net profit rose 13% in the quarter ended 31 December on improved sales at its contract research arm Syngene International Ltd, which countered sluggish growth at its bio-pharmaceutical division.
The Bengaluru-based company posted a net profit of ₹ 103 crore in the fiscal third quarter, compared with ₹ 91crore a year earlier. Revenue rose 9% to ₹ 836.4 crore from ₹ 769.2 crore in the year-ago period.
Sales of bio-pharmaceuticals, which consist of small molecules, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), generic formulations, biosimilars and branded formulations, grew 3% to ₹ 558 crore in the third quarter.
“The overall bio-pharma business continues to report a steady growth, with an increasing contribution from immunosuppressants and generic insulins in the emerging markets," Biocon said in a statement.
Syngene International’s net profit rose 31.25% to ₹ 58.8 crore in the quarter from ₹ 44.8 crore in the year-ago period. Syngene’s revenue rose to ₹ 280.4 crore from ₹ 227.6 crore.
Research and development expenses rose 45% to ₹ 67.9 crore in the quarter.
“Excluding profit contribution from Syngene, Biocon’s net profit this quarter has increased by 28% y-o-y despite a 45% jump in R&D spends and a significant increase in tax," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon.
“Biocon’s four most advanced biosimilar and generic insulin programs, Insulin Glargine, Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim and Adalimumab, continue to cross critical clinical milestones and are on track for regulatory filings in US and Europe in the calendar year 2016," said Mazumdar-Shaw said.
“These filings are likely to provide us an early mover advantage in an addressable $30 billion market," she added.
“This reflects a marked improvement in the quality of our earnings led by better realizations from biosimilars and immunosuppressants in emerging markets."
Shares of Biocon gained 0.94% and were trading at ₹ 487.30 at 10.48 am on BSE, the benchmark Sensex rose 1.38% to 24,298.64 pointss.
On Thursday, Biocon announced positive data after phase 1 studies of Insulin Tregopil, which it said will provide the basis for the next phase of clinical development.
Insulin Tregopil is a first-in-class oral prandial insulin tablet for the treatment of type I and type II diabetes mellitus.
In phase-1, a new drug is tested on a small group of healthy volunteers to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side-effects.
Biocon said it will test the drug on a larger patient cohort to validate the findings of phase-1, and prepare itself for partnership or licensing opportunities to take the drug development forward.
“The data is extremely promising and based on what we know today Tregopil may be positioned as a unique oral Insulin,"
“Confirmation of these findings in the next phase of clinical studies will set the stage for a paradigm shift in the treatment of diabetes," Mazumdar-Shaw said.
PTI contributed to this story
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