Celltrion expects Covid variants to fuel global treatments growth

Celltrion is betting that new variants of the coronavirus will fuel growth in the US and Europe for treatments of the disease, Financial Times reported. 

The drugmaker expects its new COVID-19 antibody treatment to generate up to Won1.5tn ($1.3 billion) of annual sales after animal tests showed it is effective against variants.

"The market for COVID-19 vaccines is bigger than that of treatment, but there is a large enough market for treatment producers because production facilities are limited relative to growing demand," remarked Celltrion CEO Kee Woo-sung. "It is only a matter of time before we will see a flood of orders for our treatment because Regeneron has no room to ramp up production, while Lilly has admitted problems with its treatment in tackling variants."

Last month, Celltrion said its COVID-19 treatment CT-P59 significantly reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 70% in patients and cut the recovery period by nearly five days in Phase III global clinical trials. It plans to later this month announce animal test results on the Delta variant first identified in India. 

However, some analysts said the Won1.5tn sales target seemed "too bullish" given that the company’s likely entry to the US market next year means it will be playing catch-up with Regeneron and Eli Lilly.

Lee Dong-geon, an analyst at Shinhan Investment, expects Celltrion to grab 15% of the US market for COVID-19 antibody treatments and 25% in Europe, as it will probably sell its treatment at a 30-50% discount to its rivals.