Celltrion recorded sales of 246.1 billion won ($221 million), and operating profits of 138.3 billion won in the second quarter of this year.

Celltrion_셀트리온’s April-June turnover and profit registered increases of 33 percent and 79 percent, respectively, from a year earlier to show record high three-month performances, the company said.

Its accumulated sales and operating profits in the first half of this year also increased 50 percent and 118 percent from a year ago to 442.7 billion won and 227.7 billion won.

The company attributed the improved performances to the continuous sales growth of Remsima – a blockbuster biosimilar to treat autoimmune diseases -- in global markets.

According to an IMS Health data, Remsima’s share in the European market grew to account for 42 percent of the originator drug as of the first quarter of this year.

Its prescription has also risen in the U.S. market, too, since Celltrion began to sell Remsima at the end of last year, the company said.

The second-quarter prescription of Remsima in the U.S. market totaled $21.35 million, up about 218 percent from $6.71 million in the first quarter.

“Thanks to the massive prescription data accumulated in global markets over the past three years, trust into our products among doctors and patients have solidified,” a company official said. “We will have few problems maintaining the strong market position of Remsima as the first mover biosimilar, further differentiating our product from competitors by releasing more convenient items, including subcutaneous (SC) injection-type Remsima.”