India's Biocon posts profit on biosimilar boost, divestment gains; CFO resigns
HYDERABAD (Reuters) - Indian biopharmaceutical company Biocon Ltd swung to a third-quarter profit on Thursday, boosted by its biosimilars business and the sale of some of its non-core units, and said Chief Financial Officer Indranil Sen had resigned.
Sen, who has been with the company for nearly a decade, resigned from the role to pursue career opportunities outside of Biocon, it said. He will be with the company until March 15.
For the latest quarter, the Bengaluru-based company reported a consolidated net profit of 6.6 billion rupees ($79.6 million), compared with a loss of 418 million rupees a year earlier.
"Steady market shares for key biosimilars in the U.S. and EU were complemented by the Emerging Markets performance which saw a number of new product launches and tender wins," Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said.
Revenue from operations surged 34% to 39.54 billion rupees, with its largest segment, biosimilars, reporting a 64.8% increase in revenue to 24.83 billion rupees.
Biosimilars are copies of costlier biological drugs made from living cells, primarily used in treating major ailments such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The acquisition of U.S.-based Viatris also helped drive growth at the main business.
The generics segment reported a 7.5% fall in revenue.
The company also recorded gains of 3.5 billion rupees from the sale of its dermatology and nephrology branded formulation businesses to Eris Lifesciences during the quarter and 4.56 billion rupees from stake dilution in its subsidiary, Bicara Therapeutics.
Shares of Biocon closed 1.9% lower on Thursday.
($1 = 82.9680 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Anil D'Silva)
