GC Cell’s Immuncell-LC, customized immunotherapy, recorded the largest quarterly sales in the third quarter this year, five years after its market release, the company said.

However, the company will have to address a delayed integration of the new and old manufacturing facilities to improve operating profit, observers said.

According to GC Cell on Tuesday, the third-quarter revenue of Immuncell-LC posted 10.2 billion won ($9.2 million). The drug became the nation’s first cell therapy to record quarterly sales exceeding 10 billion won.

The company’s quarterly financial report showed that GC Cell posted 11.1 billion won in sales, 300 million won in operating profit, and 1.5 billion won in net profit in the third quarter. Out of 11.1 billion won revenue, sales of Immuncell-LC accounted for 10.2 billion won.

With the encouraging earnings in the third quarter, the company said it would turn around from sluggish sales in the first and second quarters, apparently hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the separate financial statement of GC Cell, the company recorded 28.4 billion won in sales, 1 billion won in operating income, and 2.3 billion won in net income in the third quarter.

“The growth in sales of Immuncell-LC, which had declined due to Covid-19, has recovered, and sales of the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business have increased, leading to smooth business diversification of GC Cell,” GC Cell said in a statement.

Despite the robust sales, operating profit to sales remained low due to higher fixed costs coming from the operation of advanced utility facilities of Cell Center in the second half and the depreciated cost.

GC Cell will have to deal with the rising fixed costs incurred by the manufacturing plant's simultaneous operation in Seoul and Cell Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, industry watchers said.

GC Cell completed the Cell Center's construction, a four-story building with two floors underground with a total floor area of 2,820 square meters in 2018. After going through all the tests and validation for GMP (good manufacturing practice) approval, the Cell Center started to operate in May.

However, the company put off its initial plan to move the manufacturing facility in Seoul to the Cell Center in Yongin to produce all Immuncell-LC products in Yongin.

Due to the delay, the company is running both of the plants, pushing up the cost of the operation of the cutting-edge facility for cell therapy production.

GC Cell said it hoped to complete the facilities' integration by the end of the year, but the possibility of a further delay still exists.

“There is no particular issue in the integration into the Cell Center,” an official at GC Cell said. As Immuncell-LC is a customized anti-cancer drug made from a patient’s blood, the company can transfer the facility in Seoul to Yongin only after it completes the production of Immuncell-LC with blood already moved to the Seoul facility, he explained.

“We plan to move the facility as soon as possible.”