[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion said on Jan. 19 that its net profit soared 82.1 percent in 2017 from a year earlier on robust sales of its biosimilar drug Remsima in overseas markets.

Net profit came to 403 billion won (US$378 million) in 2017 on a nonconsolidated basis, compared with 221 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Celltrion said its operating profit more than doubled to 517 billion won in 2017 from 253 billion won a year earlier.

The company said its bottom line has also received a big boost due to the increased market share of Remsima in Europe and strong sales of Remsima in the United States.

Remsima is an identical copy of Janssen Biotech’s Remicade and is effective in treating various diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn’s disease.

In 2016, Remsima was put on sale in the US market under the name Inflectra by Pfizer.

Celltrion also began selling another biosimilar drug, Truxima, in Germany and Britain last year following approval from European regulators.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)