“FY25 will be a year of consolidation. It will be a year of acceleration, and of course, we want fiscal stabilization as well, and therefore we’re looking at paring down the debt further,” Mazumdar-Shaw added.
Biocon has reduced $250 million out of its $1.2 billion debt in FY24.
The Viatris’ biosimilar business acquisition helped boost Biocon’s overall revenue from operations by 32% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 14,756 crore in FY24, with Ebitda margins of 27%. The biosimilar business alone contributed 59%, or Rs 8,824 crore, reflecting a growth of 58% YoY. Biocon doesn’t see any problem in servicing debt but high interest costs are eating into its profitability. The net profit margin stood at 7% in FY24. Mazumdar-Shaw said there are ongoing conversations with investors.
“We continue to talk to equity investors, what we do not wish to do is to get into another structured equity deal, where we have to provide for an interest element, that basically impacts profit after tax,” Mazumdar-Shaw said.
Mazumdar-Shaw expects further market share gains of its biosimilar products across US, Europe, and the emerging markets, along with potential new launches in FY25.
Despite competition in key US market, Biocon has been able to grow market share of three products from FY23 to FY24 – Fulphila (pegfilgrastim), used to reduce the chance of infections for patients undergoing chemotherapy from 14% to 21%; anti-breast cancer drug Ogivri (trastuzumab) from 10% to 18%, anti-diabetes Semglee (insulin glargine) from 10% to 19% (including closed managed care).
The company expects biosimilar Hulio (adalimumab) to contribute meaningfully from 2025. Adalimumab is used in treatment of autoimmune diseases. Two important biosimilar launches of insulin aspart and bevacizumab in US market are linked to the favourable outcome of USFDA inspections, which are expected in the second half of 2024. Biocon expects approval of biosimilar ustekinumab in the US no later than February 22, 2025, subject to USFDA approval. In Europe, Biocon Biologics, which has 7 products, is focusing on expanding its geographic footprint beyond France and Germany. Mazumdar-Shaw said Biocon is betting big on GLP-1 Agonist class of peptide drugs emerging as top-selling medications against type-2 diabetes and weight loss.
“With recent approval of Liraglutide in UK, we added to our list of ‘global firsts’ and demonstrated our capability in developing complex GLP-1 products which will be the key growth driver for generics business,” Mazumdar-Shaw said.
