SHANGHAI, March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On the evening of March 21st, OcuMension Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (01477.HK, hereinafter referred to as "OcuMension" or the "Company") disclosed its 2023 annual performance report. The company achieved a total operating income of RMB 246.4 million for the full year, a year-on-year increase of 55.0%; with a comprehensive gross profit of RMB 144.4 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 40.3%. During the reporting period, the company's major operating indicators performed well, benefiting from rapid growth in sales revenue and further improvement in operational efficiency and cost control.
Enhanced Product Matrix, Rapid Expansion Leveraging First-mover Advantage
Adhering to the development philosophy of "providing world-class holistic solutions for pharmaceuticals," OcuMension has consistently devoted itself to identifying, developing, and commercializing innovative or best-in-class ophthalmic therapies. The company continuously enriches and expands its product matrix to meet the significant demand gap in Chinese ophthalmic medical care while maintaining its leading position in the ophthalmic track.
A diversified product matrix has laid the foundation for the company's steady growth. Leveraging its strong corporate strength, the company possesses a leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical platform with various drugs for both anterior and posterior segments, providing strong support for the company's development. Among them, the company's main products such as Ouqin (sodium hyaluronate eye drops), Emidin (timolol maleate eye drops), and Shilida (latanoprost eye drops) have all maintained steady growth.
Additionally, as one of OcuMension's outstanding products, OT-401(YUTIQ)® for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis was successfully included in the medical insurance catalog in December of last year. It is reported that OT-401(YUTIQ)® completed the first domestic injection in December 2022, breaking the deadlock in the treatment of uveitis in China at that time, filling the treatment gap domestically, alleviating the burden on patients to the greatest extent, and marking the formal entry of the product into ophthalmic clinical applications.
It is worth noting that since OT-401(YUTIQ)® officially entered the medical insurance catalog on January 1st of this year, the company has rapidly promoted its medical insurance landing work nationwide with its comprehensive commercialization capabilities, bringing better and more affordable treatment options for uveitis patients. As of the disclosure date of the report, the terminal injection volume of OT-401(YUTIQ)® has exceeded the total for the previous year and is expected to continue to rapidly expand.
Overcoming Technological Peaks, Strengthening Self-defense with R&D Strength
To break the previous dominance of foreign capital in the Chinese ophthalmic drug market, the company continues to increase its investment in research and development, focusing on dual-source innovation, optimizing registration and development, promoting commercialization, and adhering to high-quality technical standards throughout the entire production cycle to ensure product safety, efficacy, and quality control.
With years of technological accumulation and industrial experience, in 2023, the company achieved several milestone breakthroughs with the assistance of clinical PI, including the submission of NDA for OT-1001 (timolol hydrochloride eye drops) accepted by CDE and included in the priority review program; completion of global patient enrollment for Phase III MRCT of OT-101 (atropine sulfate eye drops); completion of real-world studies for OT-502 (dexamethasone implant), currently in the Pre-NDA stage; the completion of patient enrollment for Phase II clinical trials of OT-202 (tyrosine kinase inhibitor), a self-developed drug for dry eye syndrome, in 25 experimental centers, with a total of over 700 patients enrolled during the year. This not only enriches the company's product pipeline but also provides more high-quality treatment options for patients.
The edge of technology stems from the strength of research and development behind it. Throughout 2023, the company invested a total of RMB 123.8 million in research and development, injecting strong momentum into the company's continued development. Meanwhile, the company also focuses on building a clinical research platform and constructing a research and development team to enrich the company's product pipeline and produce multi-level products that better meet patient needs. So far, the company has a total of 25 drug assets for both anterior and posterior segments, with 12 products already commercialized, covering both anterior and posterior segments and forming a strong product matrix in the fields of anti-allergy and glaucoma. Among them, five products in the company's pipeline are still in Phase III clinical trials, making it one of the companies with the highest number of Phase III clinical trials for innovative drugs in the Chinese ophthalmic drug market.
It is noteworthy that the company has made breakthrough progress in the research and development of the myopia drug Atropine recently. Faced with the challenge of stability, the company cleverly solved the long-term storage stability problem of low-concentration atropine sulfate solution by using a dual-chamber device of reconstitution solution and freeze-dried powder. Currently, the company's self-developed product OT-101-S (0.01% and 0.05% atropine sulfate eye drops) has had its Phase III clinical trial application accepted by CDE in China.
Accelerated Commercialization Process Provides Strong Support for Sales Revenue on the Sales Side
As one of the powerful driving forces for terminal sales, commercialization has also shown remarkable performance for OcuMension in terms of product hospitalization. In 2023, with a complete product pipeline, the company continued to expand hospital coverage and accelerate product hospitalization. Currently, the company has formed a nationwide sales network, covering 1558 tertiary hospitals, with a commercial team of over 230 people. On this basis, the company deeply explores the commercial penetration of strong products such as Shilida and Emidin, achieving rapid growth in sales revenue.
In addition, under the full play of national fiscal funds' guiding role in the development of innovative drugs, more approval resources will tilt towards high-value innovative drugs. With the company's increasingly mature commercialization process and the policy-driven tailwind, the company's image in the secondary market, previously underestimated, is expected to change. Within the month, the Hong Kong stock innovative drug sector has seen a full-scale increase, and the company gradually returned to a benign growth track in this round of valuation restoration of Hong Kong stock pharmaceuticals.
In the future, driven by multiple factors such as aging, electronic lifestyle, increasing medical awareness among patients, and rising resident payment levels, China's ophthalmic market has tremendous development potential. The company will rely on its first-mover advantage to rapidly enhance its competitiveness and penetration in the domestic market, while actively expanding overseas markets to enhance the company's international influence. By continuously deepening hospital cooperation, optimizing sales network layout, the company will further improve product coverage, providing more patients with high-quality and efficient medical services.
Chasing light and encountering, forging ahead. The development of innovative drugs in the field of Chinese ophthalmology is arduous but promising. With the continuous improvement in market recognition of the company's products, OcuMension will continue to uphold the development philosophy of innovation-driven and quality-oriented, continuously strengthen research and development investment, introduce more innovative and competitive products, strive to lead the market, and provide greater returns for investors.