Uni-Bio Science Group Limited Posts Its 2017 Annual Results

Formed Strategic Alliance with Industry Leader

Restructured Marketing and Sales Platform to Enhance Competitive Advantage

Laid Solid Foundation for Future Development

HONG KONG, March 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A leading integrated biopharmaceutical researcher, developer and manufacturer Uni-Bio Science Group Limited ("Uni-Bio Science", together with its subsidiaries referred to as the "Group", stock code: 0690.HK), is pleased to announce its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017 (the "Year").

Key Accomplishments in 2017

During the Year, the Group's marketed products, namely GeneTime^®, GeneSoft^®, Pinup^® and Bokangtai have recorded satisfactory performance. Moreover, the Group has also expanded and refined the sales and marketing team to seize the market opportunities. Key highlights are:

1. Core product GeneTime^® enjoyed double-digit growth in sales volume, thanks to its optimized marketing structure, refined reimbursement scheme and broadened scope of product application.
2. Launched the best-in-class oral anti-diabetic drug Bokangtai (Mitiglinide tablets) which was listed in the 2017 NRDL, and shipped to over 100 hospitals in Fujian province during the year.
3. Successfully transferred the distribution of GeneSoft^® to China Resources Zizhu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which has broadened the hospital coverage and achieved significant savings in sales and distribution expenses.
4. Refined sales and marketing functions to 3 major divisions, namely sales operation management to oversee distribution of goods across all channels, Distributor Management to oversee distributor contracts and workflows, and Salesforce Management to nurture in-house salesforces to develop key opinion leader networks. By the end of 2017, the commercial office workforce increased by 24.8% year-on-year ("YoY") to 171 employees. The refined structure will provide a clear scope of responsibilities for strategy execution and efficient operation. As a result, key marketed drugs of the Group, for example, Pinup^®, GeneSoft^®, GeneTime^® and Bokangtai, have made steady progress on provincial tendering amid of the heightened pressure on pricing. It was encouraging that the Group gained strong market access with new Pinup^® tender awarded in Ningxia, Hunan and Hubei, new GeneTime^® tender awarded in Shanxi, Ningxia, Sichuan and new Bokangtai tender awarded in 9 provinces.

Other than the above accomplishments at the product level and sales channel restructuring, the Group has also struck a strategic alliance with industry leaders to lay a solid foundation for future development:

1.    Formed strategic alliance with Heung Kong Group, a top 50 private enterprise in the People's Republic of China (the "PRC"), which allows the Group to gain access to a scalable medical network; gain opportunity to explore international merger and acquisition ("M&A") projects

2.    Raised approximately HK$141.8 million for future development

Annual Results

In 2017, the Group recorded a turnover of HK$156.5 million, representing a YoY increase of approximately 6.8% (2016: HK$146.5 million). The increment was mainly attributable to the significant revenue contribution from GeneTime^® 15ml and Pinup^®. Cost of sales slightly increased by 1.0% from HK$22.6 million in 2016 to HK$22.8 million in 2017. Driven by the momentum of revenue growth, gross profit for the Year amounted to HK$133.6 million, increasing by 7.9% on a YoY basis, and gross profit margin remained at a relatively high level, rising by 0.8 percentage points ("p.p.") to 85.4% from 84.6% in 2016.

During the Year, the Group continued to consolidate and restructure its sales channels for more effective promotion, thus leading to the mild decrease of 5.8% in selling and distribution expenses to HK$76.4 million (2016: HK$81.1 million). Yet, the Group recorded a loss of HK$281.5 million mainly due to 1) revised pipeline projects' sales forecast with recent changes in the market's competitive landscape which led to a one-off impairment loss over the fair value of its intangible assets with HK$201.7 million; 2) surged R&D expenses resulted from substantial investment in R&D capability and talents.

Prospects

Indicated by the raising frequency of the National Reimbursement Drug List ("NRDL") update in 2017, new editions of NRDL are likely to be more frequently released in future, which will allow newly-covered drugs to contribute meaningful sales volume growth starting in 2018, while providing significant growth momentum to the Group as well as to the sector. Meanwhile, latest policies are showing strong backing to domestic high-quality generics and innovative drugs. Under such favorable demographic changes and government policies, the Group has taken concrete steps in capturing the blue ocean market. Looking forward to 2018, Uni-Bio Science will continue to solidify its distribution platform through channel expansion, in which the Group will keep a keen eye on M&A opportunities to expand into new regions such as Northeast and Central China.

Mr. Kingsley Leung, Chairman of Uni-Bio Science, commented "Uni-Bio Science always positions itself as an endocrinology expert and endeavors to provide Chinese people with comprehensive drug treatment solutions of high quality and safety. We are excited to see that all of our efforts have yielded satisfactory results during this year. In fully compliance with the two-invoice system, we have successfully refined our sales team and expanded our commercial platform with more in-house salesforce incorporated. Under such strong support, this year also witnessed the Group's robust growth in winning tenders and the huge potential of our newly marketed drugs, which started to gain profits in the first year after being launched. Fully leveraging our resources and advantages in 2018 and beyond, we hope to move aggressively towards becoming the most competitive and integrated biopharmaceutical company in China and make substantial advances in both marketed drug sales and R&D of new drugs in the pipeline, ultimately to share fruitful returns with our supportive shareholders."

About Uni-Bio Science Group Limited

Uni-Bio Science Group Limited is principally engaged in the research and development, manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products. The research and development center located in Dongguan, PRC is fully equipped with a complete system for the development of genetically-engineered products with a pilot plant test base which is in line with CFDA requirements. The Group also has two GMP manufacturing bases in Beijing and Shenzhen. The Group is focused on the development of novel treatments addressing the therapeutic areas of diabetes, ophthalmology and dermatology. Uni-Bio Science Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 12, 2001. Stock code: 0690.

For further information, please contact:

Michelle Shi ([email protected])
Linda Liang ([email protected])
Cathy Wu ([email protected])
Tel: +852 2857 7101
Fax: +852 2857 7103

SOURCE Uni-Bio Science Group Limited