On the evening of May 13th, LEGN. NS, a domestic CAR-T company, announced its Q1 2024 results, narrowing its losses.
In the first quarter of 2024, the company's net loss was $59.8 million, while in the first quarter of 2023, the net loss was $112 million, a year-on-year decrease of 46.65%.
Legendary Biology has put its performance turnaround on the agenda, and the company stated in its 2024 Q1 report that it expects to achieve profitability in 2026. The company stated that as of March 31, 2024, its cash and cash equivalents, deposits, and short-term investments amounted to $1.3 billion, which will provide it with financial reserves until 2026.
The main sources of revenue for Legendary Biology are license revenue, cooperation revenue, license costs, and other revenue, with cooperation revenue accounting for the majority, reaching $78.5 million in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 116.25%. This growth is mainly due to the increase in sales revenue of CARVYKTI (Sidaki Orense) related to the Yangsen Agreement.
Sidaki Orense is the first commercial product of Legendary Biology, which was first approved for sale in the United States on February 28, 2022. The drug also became the first Chinese original CAR-T cell therapy drug to be launched overseas. However, the drug has not yet been launched in China.
As early as December 2017, Legendary Biotech reached a global partnership with Johnson&Johnson's subsidiary, Johnson&Johnson. Legendary Biotech owns 70% of the equity in the Greater China region of Sidaki Orense and 50% of the equity in Europe, America, and Japan.
In the first quarter of 2024, the net trade sales of Sidaki Orense were approximately $157 million, contributing $78.5 million in sales to Legendary Biology.
CAR-T cell therapy drugs are expensive due to high production costs and pricing. In the Chinese market, some CAR-T cell therapy drugs are also difficult to commercialize due to their high prices. On the other hand, in some overseas markets, the pricing of Sidaki Orense is not only higher than that of CAR-T cell therapy drugs listed in the Chinese market, but its sales continue to increase, which is also supported by mature commercial insurance payment systems in some overseas markets.
Since its overseas listing in 2022, as of the first quarter of 2024, the cumulative net trade sales of Sidaki Orense have reached $790 million, with a total net trade sales of $500 million for the entire year of 2023.
In the global biopharmaceutical industry, drugs with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion are often referred to as "bombshell" drugs. The market is also paying attention to whether Sidaki Orense is expected to become a "billion dollar molecule".
In overseas markets, the indications of Sidakiolen are expanding. Starting from April 2024, the indications for Sidaki Orense in the United States, Europe, and Brazil have been extended to second-line treatment for multiple myeloma.
Legendary Biotech and Johnson&Johnson have recently signed a master agreement for production and supply services with Novartis Pharmaceuticals to supplement the existing production capacity of Sidakiolen and increase commercial supply. According to the plan, by the end of 2025, the annual production capacity of Sidakiolan will reach the goal of 10000 doses.