Company Announces Agreement to Acquire Stake in Antibody Producer Shanghai Celgen Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
NANJING, China, - Simcere Pharmaceutical Group ("Simcere" or the "Company") (NYSE: SCR), a leading manufacturer and supplier of branded generic and innovative pharmaceuticals in China, today reported unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.
Highlights:
-- Total revenue increased to RMB442.5 million (US$64.8 million) for the
first quarter of 2009 from RMB394.6 million for the corresponding
period in 2008, representing 12.1% year-over-year growth.
-- Income from operations was RMB61.1 million (US$8.9 million) for the
first quarter of 2009, a decrease of 38.4% from RMB99.2 million for the
corresponding period in 2008.
-- Net income attributable to Simcere was RMB48.2 million (US$7.1 million)
for the first quarter of 2009, representing a 57.0% year-over-year
decrease.
-- Gross margin for the first quarter of 2009 was 82.5%, compared to 83.2%
for the corresponding period in 2008.
Mr. Jinsheng Ren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, commented: "We saw solid growth in our total revenue this quarter. Sales of our edaravone injection products, the single largest contributor to our total revenue, continued to grow, while the sales performance of Endu remained a challenge. Elsewhere in our portfolio, the growth of Sinofuan and our other branded generics was encouraging."
Mr. Ren continued, "We are excited to announce today our partnership with Shanghai Celgen, a developer and producer of antibodies. Following our recent agreement with Epitomics, this is an important step forward in developing Simcere's strategic focus in the area of biopharmaceuticals. Looking forward, we will continue to seek investment and cooperation opportunities to enrich our pipeline for Simcere's mid to long term growth."
Simcere announced today that it has signed an agreement to indirectly acquire approximately 35.1% of the equity of Shanghai Celgen Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Celgen"), through the 100% acquisition of Pearl Ocean Holdings Limited ("Pearl") for a total cash sum of RMB140 million, of which RMB30 million will be applied towards the repayment of indebtedness. Shanghai Celgen has strong expertise in research and production of therapeutic antibodies and possesses an antibody manufacturing facility in Shanghai, for which GMP certification is pending. Shanghai Celgen's major biogeneric drug candidate, an etanercept, has completed clinical trials and is currently awaiting approval from the PRC State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA"). In addition, Simcere is entitled to unwind the acquisition and have returned the amounts it has paid if the SFDA does not approve Shanghai Celgen's major biogeneric drug candidate within 24 months from the date of agreement. The agreement is subject to certain closing conditions.
In December 2008, Simcere signed an agreement with Epitomics, Inc., to collaborate on the co-development and production of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of multiple tumors.
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