[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion Healthcare, which handles Celltrion’s overseas business, has pulled itself out of the red by reporting a net profit of 60.5 billion won (US$56.06 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to a loss of 1.8 billion won a year ago, the firm said on May 24.

“The solid financial results show that Celltrion group’s three biosimilar products are successfully making their ways into the European market given that the first quarter is an off season for us because most of the big hospital tenders take place in the second quarter,” the company said in a statement. 

Revenue in the quarter expanded 119.7 percent year-on-year to 128.4 billion won.

Celltrion Healthcare sells Celltrion’s biosimilars including Remsima, Truxima and Herzuma, which reference top-selling biologics drugs, in the global markets.

The company said sales from its third biosimilar Herzuma, its copy version of Roche’s breast cancer med Herceptin, were reflected in the quarterly result for the first time and are expected to report significant growth in the following quarters on market expansions in Europe.

“We are certain that Celltrion Healthcare’s forthcoming business performances will excel previous records as physicians in the UK and Germany began to prescribe Herzuma from early this month and the drug will be launched in other major European nations in the second quarter,” the firm said. Herzuma received marketing authorization from the European Commission on Feb. 14.

While Remsima, its version of Johnson & Johnson’s autoimmune disorder therapy Remicade, launched in Europe in 2015, is making a stable income for the company, Truxima, a biosimilar referencing Roche’s Rituxan, which hit the market last year, is seeking to increase uptake.

“Truxima is quickly penetrating into the EU market and we expect Inflectra (which is called Remsima in EU) will also see market expansion in the US on favorable government policies to promote biosimilars,” the company said.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)