‘SK Biopharmaceutical to double performance in all business areas’

SK Biopharmaceuticals said Thursday that it would double the performance in all of its business areas compared to the previous year.

SK Biopharmaceuticals CEO Cho Jeong-woo explains the company’s vision to double performance in all business areas in an online presentation on Thursday.

In an online news conference, the company’s top manager explained that major business plans for 2022 include cenobamate sales growth in the U.S., expansion into the global market, accelerating product launch and introduction, and expanding cooperation with promising partners.

He stressed that the company aims to achieve more than 160 billion won ($131.2 million) in sales for cenobamate this year to make it the top recognized epilepsy drug.

“Cenobamate is growing as a top tier in the U.S. epilepsy treatment market,” SK Biopharmaceuticals CEO Cho Jeong-woo said during the online press conference. “Considering that the patents of major competing products will expire next year, we will be able to establish cenobamate as the only new epilepsy drug.”

Cho stressed that the company would expand face-to-face sales and marketing to double its U.S. sales, as the country has relaxed quarantine guidelines to lift the mask mandate.

“The company expects face-to-face activity will recover to 90 percent in the second half of this year,” Cho said. “Cenobamate will become more familiar to the general public as well.” Through TV advertisements, social media marketing, and awareness of diseases, Cho added that the company would improve brand awareness of the company and its products.

The company also plans to continue expanding cenobamate in the global market by licensing the drug to South America and releasing the treatment in major European countries, such as France, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain, through Angelini Pharma, its local partner.

Aside from its partners, the company has applied to Hong Kong and plans to submit an application to Canada within this year. In Korea, China, and Japan, the company is accelerating phase 3 clinical trials with a target of launch by 2025.

Cho also emphasized that the company would expand its pipeline area to include anticancer drugs other than epilepsy and strengthen its internal structure. Especially, it is continuing research on brain tumors and solid cancers that cause a lot of brain metastasis by utilizing its central nervous system (CNS) research and development (R&D) capabilities.

Cho also left open the possibility of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for external expansion.

When asked if the company has plans for M&A with Korean or foreign companies, Cho replied that the company has an M&A plan and added that the growth strategy through M&A is a global trend.

“Global pharmaceutical companies are shortening and expanding the release cycle of new products through various innovation strategies, such as launching new products and introducing additional products through M&A,” Cho said. “SK Biopharmaceuticals is also making efforts in this trend.”