Takeda Pharmaceuticals Korea achieved a double win last year, seeing improvements in sales and operating income.

In particular, thanks to the growth of its anti-cancer drug portfolio, the company's sales exceeded the KRW 250 billion mark for the first time in 3 years since 2020, increasing sales growth for the second consecutive year.

In the long run, the key question will be whether the growth of products such as Obizur, which will be listed for reimbursement this year, can offset the decline in sales of Dexilant and Pantoloc.

Japanese pharmaceutical companies count the period from April 1 to March 31 as the first fiscal year, and the 16th fiscal year audited report, which includes last year's sales, records performance from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

Sales rebound since 2021... second consecutive year of growth

According to the audit reports disclosed in the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART), Takeda Pharmaceuticals Korea’s (Takeda Korea) 16th fiscal period sales amounted to KRW 253.9 billion, surpassing the KRW 250 billion mark for the first time in 3 years.

Takeda had posted sales of KRW 252.6 billion in 2020, and the sales fell to KRW 231.5 billion in 2021. It then rebounded to KRW 249.5 billion in 2022 and continued its upward trend.

In line with the revenue growth, operating profit also rose, reaching KRW 9 billion. This is the highest in the last 5 years, with operating profit in the last 4 years being KRW 8.1 billion in 2020, KRW 8 billion in 2021, and KRW 7.5 billion in 2022. Net income also grew from KRW 6.8 billion to KRW 7.9 billion during the same period.

This revenue growth indicates that Takeda Korea improved externally and internally last year. This was influenced by the company’s decrease in selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A).

Commissions paid decreased from KRW 19.5 billion in the 15th period to KRW 5.1 billion in the 16th period, offsetting the increase in other SG&A expenses.

In the footnote, it was indicated that the amount of commission paid to Baxalta GmbH of KRW 25.8 billion in the 15th period was eliminated in the 16th period with the company being merged and acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical International AG.

Oncology products lead sales growth...sees sales growth in all major items

Takeda Korea's sales recovery to KRW 250 billion was driven by growth in its oncology portfolio. Sales of Alunbrig and Adcetris grew more than 20% year-on-year, and Zejula grew 19%.

According to the drug research institution IQVIA, Luprin recorded the highest sales of KRW 30.6 billion. After reaching KRW 32.2 billion in 2019, sales dropped to KRW 27.6 billion in 2022 but surpassed the KRW 30 billion mark again in 2023.

In addition, Zejula, which is expanding its influence every year, had the second highest sales among anti-cancer drugs, with sales of KRW 22.6 billion in 2023, up from KRW 19 billion in 2022, and Alunbrig's sales increased from KRW 11 billion to 13.6 billion won during the same period.

Sales of Adcetris showed the highest growth. Its sales increased by 29%, from KRW 7.6 billion in 2022 to KRW 9.8 billion in 2023. Taken together, the sales growth of major anticancer drugs last year was about KRW 13 billion.

As a result, the company’s oncology portfolio will continue to drive sales growth this year. However, there is the possibility that Adcetris' sales growth may be limited hereon due to its lowered drug price cap on July 1.

GI drug sales will inevitably decline...Obizur’s reimbursement is soon expected

In the GI space, Mezavant's sales growth was notable. It crossed the KRW 10 billion mark for the first time with sales of KRW 10.1 billion in 2023, up 26% from the KRW 8 billion in 2022.

In addition, sales of Kinteles grew 14% to KRW 16.5 billion in 2023 (from KRW 14.5 billion in 2022), and orphan drug Replagal grew 17% to KRW 16 billion (from KRW 13.6 billion in 2022).

However, there were also some items that took a turn for the worse. Sales of Dexilant and Pantoloc decreased 8% (from KRW 16.7 billion to KRW 15.3 billion) and 7% (KRW 13.3 billion to KRW 12.4 billion), respectively, compared to 2022, and sales of Adynovate decreased by nearly 20%, from KRW 6.8 billion in 2022 to KRW 5.4 billion in 2023.

Considering this, there are voices that it is necessary to prepare a portfolio to expand sales in the long term.

The most anticipated item is the reimbursement of Obizur, a treatment for adults with acquired hemophilia A, which was reimbursed in February. The drug for the rare blood disorder has a limited patient population but is expected to contribute to sales with its differentiated sales.