Formycon's Early Action on COVID-19 Guided First Quarter Success

Biosimilar manufacturer Formycon AG’s early action in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has helped it adapt to the prevailing situation as operational development largely stayed on track, according to the company’s first quarter earnings for 2020.

The company was able to act early to implement measures to protect employees during the course of the pandemic and ensure that their projects didn’t fall behind.

“We are pleased about the good start to the new financial year. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the associated uncertainties, we were able to guide the company well through the crisis by taking appropriate measures early on,” Nicolas Combé, PhD, the chief financial officer at Formycon AG, said in a statement.

Financially, Formycon was able to perform about as well this past quarter as it did during the same time frame in 2019, earning a total income of €7.2 million (US $8.1 million) by the end of March, which is only €2.3 million (US $2.6 million) less compared to the first quarter of 2019.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization amounted to approximately €400,000 (US $450,000), compared to about €500,000 (US $563,000) in the first quarter of 2019.

The operating result (earnings before interest and taxes) was similar between the first quarters of 2019 and 2020, totaling about $225,000 in both. Reported sales revenues resulted from reimbursements for development work in projects licensed out to other companies or developed through a partnership.

For the entirety of 2020, the Formycon expects revenues between €35 million and €40 million (US $39 million and US $45 million).

The Germany-based company was also able to increase employment from 97 employees to 114 compared with the same period in 2019 and is expected to expand that as 2020 continues to progress.

Formycon’s COVID-19 Response

Earlier this year, Formycon had to postpone its annual meeting from May to December in light of the large-scale events ban directed by the German federal government in response to the pandemic.

In April, it announced it was beginning development on COVID-19 biologic drugs using its antibody-based protein drug technology platform, computer-aided structural protein design, and screening tests for SARS-CoV-2—blocking antibody-based drugs.

Formycon’s Biosimilar Pipeline

Formycon currently has 4 biosimilars in its pipeline, with the ranibizumab (FYB201) molecule being the furthest along after completing a phase 3 clinical trial.

The company also has an ustekinumab biosimilar (FYB202) being tested in phase 2 trials and an aflibercept biosimilar (FYB203) in preclinical testing.

The fourth biosimilar, FYB204, currently has no published information or data but was described by Formycon as “an early stage biosimilar project that has been progressed up to the initial cell line screening.”