ABL Bio turns to profit in 2022

ABL Bio, a South Korean drug maker, announced Monday that the company turned a profit last year, backed by milestone payments it received under licensing-out deals.

ABL Bio said its annual sales in 2022 went up 1162.1 percent to reach 67.3 billion won ($52.7 million). The company’s annual operating profit came to 900 million won during the same period.

ABL Bio’s sales in the previous year came to 5.3 billion won, while its operating loss reached 52.3 billion won.

ABL Bio’s licensing out deal with Sanofi mainly contributed to the company’s improved performance last year, the company explained. ABL Bio received $75 million in down payments in January last year and a short-term milestone of $20 million during the second half.

Milestone payments from Compass Therapeutics and CStone Pharmaceuticals also help ABL Bio to turn a profit, the company added.

ABL Bio expected that the company could post improved performance for the second consecutive year this year, based on a milestone payment it has recently received from Sanofi.

Earlier in January, Sanofi provided ABL Bio with a $25 million milestone payment, upon starting a phase 1 clinical trial of ABL301, an antibody treatment candidate for degenerative brain diseases.

“ABL Bio expects to receive positive results in ongoing clinical trials,” ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon also noted.