South Korea’s leading drugmaker Celltrion Inc. hit record sales and more than doubled its operating profit in the fourth quarter last year as its biosimilars made huge inroads in overseas markets.

The Korean pharmaceutical giant in its regulatory filing Wednesday said consolidated operating profit in the quarter ended December was 114.2 billion won ($95.8 million), up from 44 billion won a year ago but coming short of analyst expectations of 133.8 billion won.

Sales jumped 57.8 percent on year to an all-time high of 382.7 billion.

Celltrion shares closed Thursday 1.38 percent lower at 179,000 won.

For the full year, it raked in an operating profit of 378 billion won, up 11.62 percent from the previous year. Revenue rose 14.9 percent to 1.13 trillion won, surpassing the 1-trillion-won milestone for the first time.

The company said its flagship biosimilars expanded their global reach this year, contributing to overall sales.

Remsima SC, the world’s first subcutaneous infliximab biosimilar used to treat autoimmune diseases, started selling in Europe. The company also started the U.S. marketing of Truxima, the first Rituxan biosimilar indicated for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Herzuma, a breast cancer biosimilar to Herceptin.

In Europe, Remsima now commands a market share of 59 percent, Truxima 39 percent and Herzuma 18 percent, with the shares steadily gaining ground, Celltrion said.

Remsima SC is currently in phase three clinical trial in the United States. Celltrion aims to complete the trial by 2021, and launch the drug in 2022.

The company said it plans to release at least one biosimilar every year through 2030 and is ready to conduct clinical trials for three more drugs this year.

“Our goal is to fill more than 70 percent of our portfolio with high value-added products in our global chemical project, and add 46 new drugs to our pipeline by 2022,” Celltrion said.

By Kim Hyo-jin

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