CSPC Pharmaceutical's (1093) net profit for the first three quarters of the year inched up 0.6 percent year-on-year to 4.5 billion yuan (HK$4.9 billion).
This growth was accompanied by a 25.9 percent surge in research and development expenses, amounting to 3.7 billion yuan.
Presently, about 60 key drug candidates are in clinical trial or registration stages, with seven having submitted marketing approval applications, and 17 either in pivotal clinical trials or on the verge of filing marketing approval applications.
During the period, revenue reached 23.9 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 1.6 percent.
The finished drug business grew 3.9 percent yearly to 19.3 billion yuan for the period.
Meanwhile, a Chinese cancer treatment recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration is 33 times more expensive in the US than in China.
According to a filing by Coherus BioSciences - the partner of the Chinese drug's developer Junshi Biotechnology in the US - a 240-milligram bottle of toripalimab for nasopharynx cancer, sold under the brand Loqtorzi in the US, is priced at US$8,892 (HK$69,358) in the US.
In China, the same bottle costs 1,913 yuan.
Yao Sheng, senior vice president of Junshi Bio, said Coherus predicts annual toripalimab sales in the US could reach up to US$200 million.
