Formycon: Biosimilar Acquisitions, Developments Signal Hope Despite Losses

In Formycon’s earnings report, the German company revealed that its acquisition of 2 biosimilar candidates, FYB201 and FYB202, has been completed and development of biosimilars FYB208 and FYB209 has commenced.

In April 2022, Formycon announced the acquisition of FYB201 and FYB202 from ATHOS, saying that it would gain the full rights for the commercialization, development, and approval of FYB202, an ustekinumab biosimilar referencing Stelara, and a 50% share of FYB201, a ranibizumab biosimilar referencing Lucentis.

FYB202 will be used to treat plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease and FYB201 will be used in the treatment of patients with ophthalmic conditions, including neovascular (or wet) age-related macular degeneration, macular edema, and diabetic retinopathy. Neither the products that FYB208 and FYB209 reference nor the disease states they will target have been disclosed to the public yet.

“With the acquisition of the 50% stake in FYB201 as well as the full integration of FYB202 into the Formycon Group and the associated increase of our share in future expected revenues, we are in a position to accelerate the expansion of the development pipeline in line with our growth strategy,” said Nicolas Combé, PhD, chief financial officer at Formycon, in a statement.

“The implementation of this strategy is reflected in the initiation of two new biosimilar projects. With the launch of FYB208 and FYB209, we are laying the foundation for a further increase in pipeline valuation and sustainable business growth,” he added.

At the same time, Formycon reported that it experienced some expected losses during the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. As of March 31, 2022, the company amassed €8.2 million in group turnover including other income. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization dropped by €4.0 million from the previous quarter, about €1.7 million year-over-year, which Formycon said was in line with its expectations.

Formycon forecasted that sales for 2022 will be about €37 million, greater than the amount accumulated the previous year.

The losses were attributed to planned liquidity ratios of the Formycon Group that developed by the end of the first quarter of the year, which included stocks of liquid assets, comprising cash, checks, bank deposits, and services values at €20.1 million. Formycon said that the Formycon Group liquid assets amounted to €24.5 million at the end of the quarter.

During the first 3 months of 2022, Formycon AG, the company’s actual operational unit, had a turnover of €6.5 million, which was down €4.4 million from the 3 months prior and €2.1 million down from the first 3 months of 2021.