Driven by the dual forces of policy support and innovation, the domestic pharmaceutical industry is accelerating its recovery. On August 18, Hong Kong-listed leading pharmaceutical company Sino Biopharm (01177.HK) announced its 2025 semi-annual results. In the first half of the year, the company achieved revenue of RMB 17.57 billion and net profit attributable to owners of the parent of RMB 3.39 billion, representing year-on-year increases of 10.7% and 140.2%, respectively, marking three consecutive reporting periods of stable double-digit growth.

During the reporting period, Sino Biopharm's innovation-driven transformation yielded significant results, with its R&D pipeline entering a period of intensive harvest. The financial report shows that after surpassing the RMB 12 billion mark for the last full year, the company's innovative product revenue reached a new level in the first half of this year, amounting to RMB 7.8 billion in just six months, representing a strong year-on-year increase of 27.2%. Its proportion of total revenue also further increased to 44.4%, fully demonstrating that the innovation-driven transformation has entered a deep-water zone. The company expressed confidence in achieving double-digit growth for the full year, with the annual growth rate of innovative product revenue expected to exceed 25% and its proportion of total revenue likely to surpass 50%.

Innovative Product Revenue Surges 27.2%, Expected to Account for Over Half of Total Revenue by Year-End

As an industry leader, Sino Biopharm has made substantial investments in innovative R&D for many consecutive years and is now entering a period of intensive harvest. The results announcement shows that in the first half of this year, the company's R&D expenses reached RMB 3.19 billion, an increase of RMB 610 million from the same period last year. The ratio of R&D expenses to revenue reached 18.1%, also a 1.9 percentage point increase from the same period last year. Of this, R&D expenses for innovative drugs and biosimilars accounted for 78%. Sino Biopharm's innovative product revenue reached RMB 7.8 billion in the first half of the year, representing a strong year-on-year increase of 27.2%.

In the past two years, Sino Biopharm has received approval for as many as 11 innovative products, entering a period of intensive harvest. Since the beginning of this year, several innovative products have been approved, including Putanning, the first domestic 24-hour long-acting analgesic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) injection, and Anqixin, the first domestically produced recombinant factor VII. Anlotinib, the "Glory of Domestic Medicine", has been newly approved for two indications: first-line renal cell carcinoma and first-line soft tissue sarcoma, bringing its total number of indications to nine. The HER2 bispecific Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) TQB2102, the CCR8 monoclonal antibody LM-108, and the JAK/ROCK inhibitor Rovacitinib tablets have been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD), which is expected to accelerate their approval.

The company expects a high probability of achieving its guidance of 50% innovative revenue for the full year. The annual growth rate of innovative product revenue is expected to exceed 25%, contributing over RMB 3 billion in incremental revenue. Products newly launched in 2023-2024, such as third-generation G-CSF, PD-L1, KRAS, and Pertuzumab, will be the main drivers this year.

From 2025 to 2027, the company expects to receive approval for 19 innovative products, doubling the cumulative number of innovative products approved in its history. More than half of these are blockbuster products with a potential peak sales of over RMB 2 billion, such as TQB3616 (a CDK2/4/6 inhibitor) and TQB2102 (a HER2 bispecific ADC) as potential Best-in-Class (BIC) therapies for breast cancer; TQC3721 (a PDE3/4 inhibitor) as the first new cornerstone for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to be launched in China; and Lanifibranor (a pan-PPAR agonist) as the first small molecule for Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) treatment to be launched in China, which has significant blockbuster potential.

Miss Theresa Tse, Chairwoman of the Board of Sino Biopharm, stated that since the middle of last year, the company's performance has achieved strong double-digit growth for three consecutive reporting periods, fully demonstrating that the company's R&D pipeline has entered a period of intensive harvest. Looking ahead to the full year, we are confident in achieving the double-digit growth target and will continue to promote the company's innovative products in the international market to provide better treatment options for patients worldwide.

Multiple FIC/BIC Products Achieve Breakthroughs, Continuously Delivering Innovation Value

At the results presentation, Sino Biopharm revealed that the company has made outstanding progress in the four key therapeutic areas of oncology, hepatology, respiratory, and surgery/analgesic, with promising R&D progress for multiple global FIC/BIC products.

In the oncology field, the company has a comprehensive layout in non-small cell lung cancer, covering a full line of treatments for various subtypes. The EGFR/cMet bispecific antibody TQB2922 is about to initiate a Phase III clinical trial for second-line non-small cell lung cancer, and the Phase I clinical trial for the EGFR/cMet bispecific ADC TQB6411 is currently enrolling patients, with both products leading in progress in China. The company has a deep layout in the three major subtypes of breast cancer. The CDK2/4/6 inhibitor Culmerciclib Capsules are expected to become a BIC therapy for HR+/HER2- breast cancer. The HER2 bispecific ADC TQB2102 shows potentially superior safety compared to DS-8201, and multiple indications are being expanded simultaneously, with three Phase III trials for breast cancer progressing rapidly. In the gastrointestinal field, the company has a systematic layout for core cancers such as colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic carcinoma, and hepatic cancer. The R&D progress of LM-108 (a CCR8 monoclonal antibody) and TQB2868 (a PD-1/TGF-β bifunctional fusion protein) is the fastest globally, and current clinical data has shown great potential.

In the respiratory field, Sino Biopharm has achieved full-spectrum coverage of respiratory diseases, with a comprehensive layout of multiple dosage forms covering nebulizers, dry powder inhalers, and soft mist inhalers. Among them, the progress of its PDE3/4 is ranked second globally, and the target has great potential.

In the liver/metabolic diseases field, the company has a layout of both oral and injectable dosage forms, targeting over 200 million MASH patients worldwide. Its clinical progress currently ranks first in China.

In the surgery/analgesic field, with its patch platform as the core, Sino Biopharm has launched products such as Flurbiprofen Cataplasms and Lidocaine Cataplasms, strengthening its industry leadership through technological iteration. In the first half of 2025, Tulobuterol Patches and Loxoprofen Sodium Cataplasms were approved. The cumulative number of patch products expected to be launched by 2026 will reach seven. Over the past decade, the compound annual growth rate of patch product revenue has been nearly 40%. It is expected that a matrix of more than ten products will be formed by 2030, becoming a significant performance growth point.

Mr. Eric Tse, Chief Executive Officer of Sino Biopharm, stated that in recent years, the company has focused on core areas, continuously achieving leapfrog improvements in R&D efficiency. Anchored by FIC and BIC products, its pipeline reserves are striving to reach the global top tier. Since the beginning of this year, several core products have achieved major breakthroughs and have gained prominence at international academic conferences such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). They will continue to deliver innovation value in the coming years.

As of the end of the reporting period, Sino Biopharm had sufficient cash reserves, reaching RMB 30.5 billion. The company proposes to distribute a dividend of RMB 820 million for the first half of 2025, an increase of over 60% compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of this year, the company's stock price has accumulated a gain of over 150%, achieving a steady increase in long-term shareholder returns.

Editor in Charge: Li Mengzhan