Northland Biotech Reports 13.72% YoY Revenue Growth in 2022 and Initiates Commercialization Preparations for Key Pipeline Assets

Beijing Northland Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a company listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, released its 2022 annual report on the evening of April 26. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of 64.6546 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.72%. Of this, eye drop sales revenue amounted to 51.856 million yuan.

The company stated that, in 2023, it will continue to focus resources, increase investment, and fully advance clinical projects. It will scientifically manage and meticulously construct, organize the construction of a biopharmaceutical industrialization base, and comprehensively prepare for the commercialization of biopharmaceuticals; promote the sales of ophthalmic drugs and continuously increase market share; continuously optimize the company’s organizational structure, improve management systems, enhance management standards, and ensure the realization of annual business objectives.

　Ophthalmology Business "Hematopoietic" Capacity Enhanced

Northland is positioned as an innovative biopharmaceutical enterprise, with its main products being bioengineering new drugs. The development cycle of bioengineering new drugs is long and requires significant investment. The company has also developed generic chemical eye drops. These drugs require less investment, have a shorter cycle, and offer faster capital recovery, providing financial support for the development of bioengineering new drugs and the company’s ongoing operations.

During the reporting period, the biopharmaceutical new drug independently developed by the company is still in the research and development stage and has not yet been marketed. The company's main business revenue mainly comes from the production and sales of eye drop products. In terms of ophthalmic drugs, the company’s two eye drop production lines have passed GMP certification/inspection, possessing 3 registered approvals for eye drop products, and several chemical generic eye drop projects are currently in the research and development stage.

The market prospect in the ophthalmic pharmaceuticals field is broad. Annual reports show that, due to a combination of factors such as the widespread use of electronic products in daily life, changes in lifestyle, and the accelerating process of population aging, the incidence of various eye diseases has been on the rise in recent years. The number of patients with ophthalmic diseases continues to grow, and the demand for ophthalmic drugs keeps expanding. According to a report released by Frost & Sullivan, it is expected that the market size of China's ophthalmic drugs will reach 44 billion yuan by 2025 and 108.4 billion yuan by 2030. Driven by technological advancements and an influx of capital, more independently developed innovative products are anticipated to emerge in the future within the ophthalmic pharmaceuticals sector.

The company stated that in 2023, it will strengthen the sales of ophthalmic drugs, continuously improve market share and profit levels; prepare for the sales of products such as balanced salt solution, actively explore the market, establish an independent marketing system, and promote products and customer service.

　　Increase Innovation and R&D Efforts

The company's biopharmaceutical R&D projects under development cover areas such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, and rare diseases. During the reporting period, R&D expenses amounted to 56.4048 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 30.57%. The company’s key project under development, Recombinant Human Thymosin Beta 4 for Injection (NL005), has entered Phase IIb; to accelerate the patient enrollment progress for the Recombinant Human Hepatocyte Growth Factor Naked Plasmid Injection (NL003) project, additional clinical trial centers were added during the reporting period.

During the reporting period, the company fully mobilized the enthusiasm of all parties through academic conferences, third-party recruitment, high-level visits, and on-site offices, with a focus on ensuring the progress of clinical research projects. The NL003 project increased the intensity of routine monitoring, held regional and department meetings more frequently, established a hospital collaboration model, actively carried out academic activities, and expanded the project's influence.

During the reporting period, the NL003 project initiated commercialization preparation work. After investigating several consulting firms, a commercial cooperation agreement was established with IQVIA, and the research consulting work is proceeding smoothly. Meanwhile, commercial packaging design for NL003 has been launched in collaboration with Beijing University of Technology.

The gene therapy drugs and recombinant protein drugs under research by the company are all innovative drugs. The company owns a biopharmaceutical R&D and production technology platform, mastering core technologies such as gene vector construction, engineering strain construction, microbial expression, mammalian cell expression, and biologic drug manufacturing processes, forming a complete and sustainable innovation R&D capability.

In addition, the company's bioengineering drug industrialization project has commenced construction. Currently, the main building structures of the integrated building, warehouse, and production plant have entered the above-ground construction phase, with over 80% of the steel structure columns and beams installation already completed.