Today's issue of Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily (August 7) (Reporter Zheng Bingxun): Zai Lab (9688.HK) announced the 2024 Interim Report, showing that the company achieved revenue of 0.188 billion USD during the reporting period, an increase of 42.53% year-on-year, with product revenue reaching 0.187 billion USD; the net loss was 0.134 billion USD, compared with 0.17 billion USD in the same period last year.

Looking at quarterly data, Zai Lab achieved revenue of 0.1005 billion USD in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of approximately 15.32% from the first quarter's 87.15 million USD. Among them, the product revenue of the second quarter reached 0.1001 billion USD, an increase of 14.93% compared to the first quarter's 87.1 million USD, and an increase of 45% from the same period last year of 68.9 million USD.

The fact that Zai Lab's product revenue can exceed 0.1 billion USD in the second quarter is closely related to the product influx brought about by the inclusion of the venous infusion type Ajumoduo α injection (Weijiajia) into the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) this year.

This product achieved commercial sales in September 2023 and is used to treat adult patients with AChR antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis. In January 2024, this indication was included in the NRDL. In the second quarter, Weijiajia achieved product revenue of 23.2 million USD, plus 13.2 million USD in the first quarter, for a total of 36.4 million USD in sales for the first half of the year.

Based on this, Zai Lab raised the expected annual revenue of the venous infusion type Ajumoduo α injection to over 80 million USD in 2024, which is higher than the 70 million USD previously revealed by Zai Lab personnel to Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily reporters.

At present, in addition to Ajumoduo, the products that mainly contribute to Zai Lab's revenue are Nilarapli and Jiatongsuansu Omahycycline.

In the second quarter of 2024, Nilarapli brought in product revenue of 45 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 5%, and it is mainly used for ovarian cancer patients domestically. During the same period, Jiatongsuansu Omahycycline achieved revenue of 12.3 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 165%, and it is used for adult patients with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), and this product was included in the NRDL in the first quarter of 2023.

It is worth mentioning that the subcutaneous injection type Ajumoduo α injection (Weilijia) was approved for listing in July this year, with the same indication as Weijiajia. It is expected that the injection method will help improve the accessibility of Weilijia treatment.

In addition, Zai Lab had several other products approved for listing in the first half of 2024. Among them, in May, Ripotinib was approved by NMPA for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ROS1 positivity. Also in May, Subartonate Sodium-Dorobatanate was approved for the treatment of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by sensitive strains of Baumann-Acinetobacter complex in patients 18 years of age and older.

Journalists from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily asked Zai Lab personnel about the market promotion status of new products. Enterprise personnel said that these 3 new products have just been approved and have not yet achieved commercial sales, and there is no specific commercialization timetable due to production scheduling and customs declaration procedures.

However, Zai Lab also stated that it is preparing for new products and indications that will be launched soon, striving to achieve profitability by the end of 2025.

In the first half of 2024, Zai Lab spent 0.116 billion USD on research and development investment, and had 0.63 billion USD in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period. Zai Lab expects to submit at least 4 new market applications to NMPA within the next 12 months, including KarXT for the treatment of schizophrenia.