The latest: Everest Medicines Ltd. (1952.HK) announced On Tuesday, the company’s revenue in the first half of this year rose 33-fold to 302 million yuan ($42.3 million), while its net loss rose 49 percent to 632 million yuan.

Look up: The increase in sales was due to rapidly increasing sales of the antibacterial drug Xerava in mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as the launch of the nephrology drug Nefecon in China and Singapore and Nefecon sales in other regions.

Please note: Everest’s cost of sales increased more than 20-fold to 70.44 million yuan due to the cost of marketing the drug. Distribution and selling expenses also tripled to 200 million yuan, resulting in an even larger net loss.

Dig deeper: Everest was founded in 2017 and develops drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company has been listed in Hong Kong since 2020. The company began collaborating with foreign counterparts in 2019, when it received an exclusive license from Gilead Science (GILD.US) to develop and commercialize the breast cancer drug sacituzumab govitecan in China. However, that agreement was terminated last year. The company’s revenue began to rise significantly in the second half of last year with the launch of its two current core drugs, Xerava and Nefecon. However, expenses also rose rapidly as the company built up its team to commercialize the drugs.

Market reaction: Everest shares rose on Wednesday, closing up 1.4% at HK$21.30 by lunchtime. The stock is now trading at the mid-to-lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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