SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., the biotech unit under South Korea’s SK Group, managed to narrow losses in the second quarter from the previous quarter on reduced market expenses after it began to roll out treatments in the United States.

In its first statement disclosure on Friday since it went public last month, the company said that it posted an operating loss of 57.84 billion won ($48.8 million) in the April-June period on a consolidated basis, improving from a loss of 65.1 billion won in the previous three-month period but worsening from 38.4 billion won in the same period last year. It claimed the year-ago comparison is less meaningful as it did not have products on the U.S. market last year.

Net loss also improved on-quarter from 66.6 billion won to 59.6 billion won in the second quarter but worsened from 42.6 billion won on-year.

Sales reached 2.065 billion won in the April-June period, down 47.42 percent on-quarter and 68.26 percent on-year.

Shares of SK Biopharmaceuticals ended Friday 4.03 percent down at 178,500 won. SK Biopharmaceuticals made a successful debut on the Korean stock market on July 2, marking the biggest initial public offering in the country in three years. Its price more than tripled from IPO price of 49,000 won.

Business environment for SK Biopharmaceuticals is expected to improve down the road.

SK Biopharmaceuticals is pinning high hopes that its new epilepsy treatment cenobamate (XCOPRI) that received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year and released in May will help drive growth.

The company said that demand for cenobamate tablets released in July last year in the U.S. has been high compared with other drugs for partial-onset seizures in early phase of launch over 10 years despite challenging business environment due to coronavirus.

SK Biopharmaceuticals plans to carry out steady research and development of new anti-cancer drugs and expand investment in central nervous system (CNS) pipeline by promoting open innovation and enhancing R&D. The company said it will actively invite outside experts to strengthen competitiveness as a global bio firm.

By Lee Eun-joo

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