Many biotech companies which have yet to see profits are in fact set to launch their first product. In an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Kintor Pharmaceutical's (09939) Chief Financial Officer Lu Yan noted that the company will submit its new drug application (NDA) for its core product GT0918 for the treatment of prostate cancer next season, whose sale is expected to start in the fourth season of next year and peak within five years, adding that it will roll out at least two products by the end of 2022.

To prepare for GT0918’s commercialisation work, Kintor Pharma has already begun building up a sales team. Noting the drug is mainly for the treatment of prostate cancer, Lu said that hospitals offering related treatment are more concentrated in mainland China, with the largest 27 ones accounting for as high as 60% of the market; hence, it is better for the company to set up a sales team for the mainland market, which is estimated to grow to 150 members in the first quarter of next year to handle work for 300 related hospitals and as many as 350 ones by the end of 2022 for 800-1000 hospitals, adding that ultimately the drug will be available to some 90% of prostate cancer patients on the mainland.

Sales expected to peak in five years

Mentioning a statistical forecast that China will have more than 330,000 prostate cancer patients by 2028, Lu explained that unlike other cancers, people suffering from prostate cancer have longer life spans, which increases the drug’s commercial value, and that Kintor Pharma’s GT0918 is relatively safe and compatible with other medicines and will therefore see its sales peak in five years’ time. She added the reason the company chose to conduct R&D and apply for approval in both the Chinese and the US markets is that the latter boasts more advantageous pricing, prompting the company to expedite its relevant clinical trials in USA.

Apart from that, given China’s increasingly relaxed requirements for the coverage of innovative drugs in its public health insurance, GT0918 will enjoy a vastly greater advantage if it enters the essential drug list, which will enable its price to drop by almost half, judging by the price changes of the essential drugs after they made the list, said Lu.

In the first half of this year, Kintor Pharma’s R&D expenses neared RMB148 million. Lu revealed that with clinical trials for GT0918 to enter their Phases III and II stages in China and the US respectively, as well as considering the R&D progress of its other drugs, Kintor Pharma’s R&D expenditure is forecasted to slightly exceed that for last year amounting to RMB200 million and further grow as the company’s macromolecular products begin clinical trials next year.

Kintor Pharma will keep its expenditure under control based on its R&D progress and its regional markets’ clinical trial requirements, said Lu, adding that currently, the company’s cash is sufficient to support its capital and R&D expenses for the next 18 months. Also, while the company is still busy conducting clinical trials and has not launched any product, what investors pay attention to is product competitiveness.

Interviewed and written by: Cheung Chun-ho