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| Developing New Products, Growing Sales Force and Forming Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Business Growth |
HONG KONG, Nov 26, 2014 - (ACN Newswire) - Uni-Bio Science Group Limited ("Uni-Bio Science" or the "Group"; HKEx code: 690) has announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2014. Backed by a strong management team and guided by a clear development roadmap, the Group achieved solid growth as it continued to expand its core business and strengthened its business foundation through various initiatives during the period under review.
For the six months ended 30 September 2014, the Group's consolidated turnover increased 13.2% to approximately HK$62.9 million while gross profit grew 15.1% to approximately HK$52.3 million. The growth was mainly driven by continued strong growth in the sales of biologics products of 17.7%. The gross margin improved further by 1.4 percentage point to 83.2%. Net loss narrowed to approximately HK$19.6 million, mainly due to the sales growth of the Group's core products. The Group continued to record a net loss during the period under review because of large depreciation and amortization expenses, which reflects the previous investments made to develop and commercialize the Group's next generation biologics, and to upgrade the Group's manufacturing facilities to match the latest cGMP standards. Importantly, the Group maintained a positive EBITDA and operating cash flow turned positive versus a negative figure in the last corresponding period. In addition, the Group sustained a healthy financial position - cash balance stood strong at HK$58.6 million, as of 30 September 2014.
Mr. KOH Phee Wah, CEO of the China Operations said, "In the first half of this financial year, we have completed many key changes to Uni-Bio Science, including changes to the Board and putting in place a robust strategic plan. I am pleased to see that we are executing this well, and have already achieved some immediate successes, e.g. our collaboration with Samil. We are also tracking well on our new product portfolio and operational initiatives. As we continue our momentum into the second half of the year, we are confident that our market position will become even stronger."
Adhering to its new strategy of focusing on core therapeutic areas of treatment of diabetes, ophthalmology and dermatology, the Group is developing new drugs to strengthen its leading position in these disciplines. Uni-E4, within the GLP-1 agonist class of anti-diabetic treatments, has completed all clinical trials and its phase III trial result investigator meeting is expected to take place by end of the year 2014. The new drug application ("NDA") for Uni-E4 is planned to be submitted to the China Food and Drug Administration ("CFDA") in the second half of 2015. In addition, Uni-PTH, an effective anabolic (bone growth) agent used to treat osteoporosis, has completed all clinical trials and is undergoing commercial batch stability testing. The Group intends to submit the NDA to the CFDA in January 2015. These two major drugs are intended to become major revenue drivers of the Group by 2017.
In the meantime, the Group has multiple initiatives to expedite the growth pace in the near future and prepare for the rapid expansion anticipating the launch of new drugs. Firstly, the Group has embarked on a strategy to aggressively enhance its commercial share-of-voice in China. The Group has also consolidated its sales and marketing teams in Beijing and Shenzhen respectively into one under the leadership of its National Sales and Marketing Director. It is currently working to expand the sales force and sales reach.
Secondly, the Group will invest in enhancing market access functions. GeneTime and Pinapu, two out of the three currently marketed products of the Group, are included on the National Reimbursement Drug List ( "NRDL"). In view of the Central Government of China's policy of increasing healthcare expenditure and reimbursement coverage for its people, the Group has set up a market access function specializing in listing the third product, GeneSoft, on the NRDL. By doing so, the Group hopes to unlock the extensive growth potential of this product and raise its revenue contribution.
The Group is upgrading the manufacturing facilities in Beijing. The upgrade is expected to be completed by mid-2015. The Group will achieve this without interrupting the production and supply of products to customers, which will allow it to participate in all provincial tenders during this period. Upon completion, the two manufacturing facilities under Uni-Bio Science will be certified to meet the most current China GMP standards.
Finally, while achieving organic growth through in-house pharmaceutical products, the Group has also introduced a new partnership model by collaborating with reputable foreign pharmaceutical companies to bring innovative treatments into China for diseases prevalent in the Chinese population. The first partnership deal was successfully completed in early September to import four pharmaceutical products from Samil Pharm Co., Limited ("Samil"), an established ophthalmology-focused pharmaceutical company in Korea. The Group will continue to seek additional opportunities with potential for short payback period and within its therapeutic focus of diabetes, ophthalmology and dermatology. Additional synergistic partnerships should more efficiently broaden the Group's income base and increase its market share in the core focus areas. The Group is targeting a key strategic objective of becoming the "Partner of Choice" in China and a leader within each therapeutic focus.
Mr. Kingsley LEUNG, Executive Director of Uni-Bio Science said, "It is encouraging to see that the regulatory environment in China is favourable for innovation-focused biopharmaceutical companies. Our past strategy of focusing in R&D and strong innovation has put us in a great position to capture the opportunities ahead. This is evident from the great traction the team has been having with potential promotional partners. While we intend to boost our top line through strengthening our sales force and market penetration in the near term, our strong product pipeline and effective partnership model continue to fuel our expansion in the medium-to-long term. Both short-term and long-term catalysts are in place, and Uni-Bio is ready to build on its established foundation to achieve sustainable long-term growth."
Contact:
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Veron Ng Phone: +852 2864 4831 Email: veron.ng@sprg.com.hk
Angelus Lau Phone: +852 2864 4805 Email: angelus.lau@sprg.com.hk
Sadie Lam Phone: +852 2864 4861 Email: sadie.lam@sprg.com.hk
Fax: +852 2527 1196
Topic: Press release summary
Source: Uni-Bio Science Group Limited
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News, BioTech
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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