August 20, 2018, Hong Kong --- Chinese leading biotechnology company 3SBio（01530.HK) today released its 2018 interim results, showing that the company has been dramatically growing with significant progresses in all businesses. In the near future, the company intends to reinforce its position as a leading biopharmaceutical company in China by leveraging its integrated R&D, manufacturing and commercial platforms. The company will also focus on developing leading biologics products to address unmet medical needs to benefit more patients.

Financial highlights show that the company’s revenue increased by approximately 27.4% to approximately RMB 2,174.0 million; its gross profit rose by approximately 19.9% to approximately RMB 1,746.6 million; Normalized EBITDA added by approximately 25.7% to approximately RMB 838.5 million; Normalized net profit attributable to owners of the parent advanced by approximately 37.8% to approximately RMB 560.8 million.

Market-Leading Products with Significant Growth

The core products of the company include TPIAO, Yisaipu, as well as recombinant human erythropoietin (“rhEPO”) products EPIAO and SEPO. All the four products continued to be market leaders in China in the first half of 2018. According to IMS data, China market share of TPIAO, which is the only commercialized recombinant human thrombopoietin (“rhTPO”) product in the world, increased to 63.2% for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in the first half of 2018. Yisaipu, a product to treat rheumatoid arthritis , ankylosing spondylitis and psoriasis, owns a dominant market share of 63.5% in China in the first half of 2018. Two rhEPO products, namely EPIAO and SEPO, own a combined market share of 41.3% in the first half of 2018.

The company launched the first once-weekly anti-diabetes drug Bydureon on May 25, providing a new treatment option for patients in China.

In 2018, the company continues to enrich its product portfolio. In the field of kidney disease, the company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Toray for the commercialization of TRK-820 (“Remitch”); the company also entered into an agreement with BMT to acquire a calcium acetate tablet. In addtion, Fluticasone Propionate Cream obtained manufacturing approval in August 2017 and launched in March 2018; Tacrolimus Ointment was granted a marketing approval from the CFDA for pediatric indications in children with moderate to severe dermatitis.

Significant Achievements in Various Businesses

The company made important progresses in various businesses in the first half of 2018.

With regard to R&D, the company completed Phase III trials of prefilled syringe of Yisaipu, as well as Phase III trials of Clindamycin Phosphate and Tretinoin Gel for topical treatment of acne vulgaris. The company completed multiple Phase I clinical trials of NuPIAO (SSS06, the second-generation rhEPO to treat anemia) and obtained an approval for Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. The company completed patients enrollment for Phase I trials of 602 (an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody to treat cancer) and is planning Phase III pivotal trials in patients with colorectal cancer. The company has begun patients enrollment for TPIAO in surgery patients with hepatic dysfunction at the risk of thrombocytopenia and received IND approvals for TPIAO’s new indications for the pediatric ITP indication. The company is initiating patient enrollment in Phase I AMD trial of 601A (an anti-VEGF antibody to treat AMD) and received IND approvals for this product to conduct clinical trials in patients with RVO, mCNV and DME. The company resubmitted the NDA application of 302H（Anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody drugs for breast cancer）to CFDA.

On 30 April 2018, the Company entered into research collaboration with Menlo Park, California based Refuge Biotechnologies, Inc. (“Refuge”) to develop Programmed Therapeutic Cells .As of June 30, 2018, amongst the 32 product candidates within the company’s active pipeline, 17 were being developed as National Class I New Drugs in China, covering oncology, immunology, nephrology, metabolic diseases and dermatology.

Focusing on Biopharmaceutical Innovation

Looking forward to the future, the company intends to reinforce its position as a leading biopharmaceutical company in China by leveraging its integrated R&D, commercial and manufacturing platforms.

The company will focus on developing leading biologics products, including NuPIAO, RD001, SSS07, Pegsiticase, product candidate 602, product candidate 601A, prefilled syringe of Yisaipu and other mAb products. A fully integrated R&D platform is accelerating the development of biologics products, thus enabling the company to provide a variety of treatment options for patients.

With the company’s approximately 38,000-liter capacity in mAb facility, as well as mammalian cell-based, bacteria cell-based and small molecule manufacturing facilities and over 25 years of experience in manufacturing of biologics medicines, the company is able to manufacture high quality pharmaceutical products with scalable manufacturing capacity at competitive costs to deliver on its strategic objective of creating a profitable CMO business.

The company will continue to pursue selective mergers and acquisitions and collaboration opportunities to enrich its existing product portfolio and pipeline, in order to satisfy unmet medical needs and to provide products in urgent need to patients. The strategic collaborations with AstraZeneca, Lilly and Toray reflected the company's excellent professional ability in international development and operation, and lay important step-stone for future strategic collaboration. The company is growing its international business through the registration of existing products in new overseas markets and the registration of new products through either innovative or biosimilar pathways in highly regulated markets, to benefit more global patients.

Dr. Jing LOU, Chairman of 3SBio, commented: “Along with the improved living standards and the aging population, qualified healthcare products are significantly required nowadays. We are always committed to develop innovative product, and regard product quality as top priority of the company. We will continue to focus on the biopharmaceutical field, providing innovative and affordable medicines with global quality standards to address the unmet medical needs.”