Oncology revenue drives first-half growth for Hutchmed

(Sharecast News) - Hutchmed China reported a robust set of first-half financial results on Wednesday, underpinned by significant growth in oncology product revenue and a solid cash position to support ongoing expansion. The AIM-traded company reaffirmed its full-year 2024 guidance for consolidated oncology and immunology revenue to be between $300m and $400m, having already achieved $168.7m in the first six months.

That growth represented a 59% increase in oncology product revenue, or 64% at constant exchange rates (CER).

A major highlight for the period was the impressive commercial performance of 'Fruzaqla', or fruquintinib, in the US, which recorded in-market sales of $130.5m since launch in November.

The board said strong demand for Fruzaqla underscored its growing traction in the market.

Hutchmed reported net income of $25.8m for the first half of the year, with a substantial cash balance of $802.5m as of 30 June, positioning it to continue investing in key research and development projects and enhancing commercial efficiency.

The company said its global expansion efforts were gaining momentum, particularly with fruquintinib.

It said it was preparing for the European Union launch of Fruzaqla, led by its partner Takeda, following European Commission approval in June.

Filings for regulatory approval in more than a dozen jurisdictions were being supported by data from the FRESCO-2 trial.

Additionally, Hutchmed said it was preparing to launch sovleplenib in China for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), potentially marking its first haematology medicine.

The new drug application (NDA) for sovleplenib was accepted and granted priority review status in January.

It was also targeting the US market for savolitinib, with a potential NDA filing for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) expected by the end of the year, based on data from the SAVANNAH trial.

Moreover, Hutchmed said it had submitted NDAs in China to expand the use of its key products - 'Orpathys' for treatment-naïve METex14 NSCLC, 'Elunate' for endometrial cancer, and 'Tazverik' for follicular lymphoma.

Hutchmed said it was continuing to advance its clinical pipeline, with 15 late-stage registration trials either ongoing or under review.

The trials included ESLIM-02 for sovleplenib in warm autoimmune hemolytic anaemia (AIHA), RAPHAEL for HMPL-306 in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and surufatinib in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

It was also expanding its haematology portfolio, adding new programs targeting menin and CD38, which would complement its existing range of inhibitors and antibodies targeting Syk, EZH2, IDH, BTK, and CD47.

"Hutchmed has delivered strong performance in the first half of this year," said non-executive chairman Dr Dan Eldar.

"The team has made significant progress implementing our strategy in discovering and developing novel, effective medicines; conducting clinical trials in our home market and in the global markets; and rapidly advancing regulatory and commercial goals.

"I am very pleased with the ongoing success of our partnership with Takeda and with the growing ability of the company to provide health benefits to patients overseas."

Dr Eldar said the company had grown its revenue from the US during the period, and expected to see revenue growth from other countries in the coming months.

"We are also capitalising on our proven track record of bringing new medicines and additional indications for our marketed medicines to China, with several potential NDA approvals for the next few years."

At 1226 BST, shares in Hutchmed China were up 5.7% at 298.08p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.