SHAH ALAM: Duopharma Biotech Bhd is cautiously optimistic of its performance as it aggresively promotes its medicines to government and private hospitals.
In the first quarter ended March 2019, Duopharma’s profits rose 36 per cent to RM14.47 million from RM10.65 million a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter increased to RM150.39 million from RM133.26 million previously.
"Our mandate from the board is to do better year after year. We hope to meet their expectations. We're aggresively promoting our products, both locally and in the export market," said Duopharma group managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar.
Also present were Duopharma chief operating officer Wan Amir-Jeffrey Wan Abdul Majid and chief financial officer Chek Wu Kong.
Since its split from Chemicals Company of Malaysia Bhd at the end of 2017, Duopharma is now directly controlled by Permodalan Nasional Bhd.
Duopharma is Malaysia’s largest pharmaceutical company by volume, but second by value behind Pfizer Malaysia.
Duopharma is also the only company in Malaysia that is producing biologics and biosimilars.
“For the next two years, biosimilar and oncology will be the big drivers. We will be putting out more products, especially when our oncology facilities commences operations in the third quarter of this year,” said Leonard.
“There's a lot of potential to localise products that have traditionally been imported or processed overseas,” he added.
As competition in the generic drug market heightens, margin squeeze becomes inevitable.
In differentiating itself, Duopharma has been focusing on biosimilars such as the supply of insulin to the government under a three-year contract ending December 2019.
Duopharma is also promoting Erysaa, another biosimilar, which doctors can prescribe to kidney dialysis patients who suffer from low red blood cell count.
Erysaa, whose product registration in Malaysia is valid from January 31 2019 until January 31 2024, is developed with its South Korean partner, PanGen Biotech Inc.
When asked on medicine exports, Leonard said registration in foreign jurisdictions was an ongoing process and it can take as long as 36 months to register in one market.
"We're upgrading our dossier quality to meet stringent regulatory environment in the international market," he said.
Last year, Duopharma managed to penetrate four new markets; namely Ghana, South Africa, Oman, and Qatar.
Leonard said the group was still pursuing its claims of RM8 million goods and services tax (GST) refunds from the government. “The GST audits have been carried out. So, we're still awaiting the refunds from the Customs.”