By IANS
Bangalore : Biocon Ltd, India's premier biotechnology firm, Wednesday posted net profit of Rs.530 million for the first quarter of the current fiscal, registering a growth of 36 percent.
According to a company statement here, sales grew by 28 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.2.72 billion and operating profit by 40 percent YoY during the April-June period. EBITDA was at Rs.770 million.
"All business segments delivered robust growth at a time when we are challenged with increased R&D investments, a rising rupee and higher operating costs," Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said.
"Market expansion for bio-therapeutics and higher licensing income from R&D programmes enabled us to sustain growth," she said.
During the quarter, the company's discovery-led programmes in oral insulin (IN 105) and anti-monoclonal antibody (T 1h) made substantial progress. The phase 1C human clinical proof-of-concept trials in IN 105 were completed in India. Phase two human clinical trials in T 1h will commence in the second quarter (July-Sept).
"We see licensing as a strong affirmation of our innovation-led business strategy and expect to increase licensing revenue in future. We have also entered into an exclusive tie-up with Invitrogen Corporation to market insulin to the global cell culture market," Mazumdar-Shaw said.
The company also entered into an exclusive agreement for GCSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor) in North America and the European Union. The tie-up envisages upfront licensing fee and royalties from sales to Biocon.
Biocon has filed an investigational medical product dossier for IN 105 to conduct phase one clinical trial at Karolinska University hospital in Stockholm, Sweden.