BioSyent (OTC:BIOYF; TSX-V:RX) is actively building its international pharmaceutical sales and marketing business, adding products licensed and sold internationally to products already being shipped from Canada.
“We’re working on a couple of international deals now,” René Goehrum, chairman, president and CEO, says in an interview with BioTuesdays.com.
Mr. Goehrum explains that BioSyent hopes to commercialize new product deals in the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia. “These products may not be licensed for sale in Canada.”
BioSyent currently has a portfolio of seven products, targeting hospitals and community health in Canada, with an eighth product to be launched in November.
“We search the globe to in-license or acquire innovative pharmaceutical products that have been successfully developed, are safe and effective, and have a proven track record of improving the lives of patients,” he adds. “We focus on products, with less than $20-million in annual peak revenue and those that have a competitive position we can strengthen.”
In May, the company’s international subsidiary signed an exclusive distribution agreement with a European pharma partner for two new products in the cardiovascular therapeutic area for the Canadian market. The products, which are expected to add $20-million at peak sales, have been approved in Europe and in certain other markets and will be launched in Canada in 2018, pending regulatory approval.
BioSyent plans to target general practitioners and cardiologists with the two new products, which represents the company’s largest potential revenue deal to date.
BioSyent plans to target general practitioners and cardiologists with the two new products, which represents the company’s largest potential revenue deal to date.
“As we build out our commercial capacity with new assets, we’re adding to our sales force, to people in supply chain, finance and in business development,” Mr. Goehrum adds.
He points out that BioSyent has partnership deals with six companies and is assessing new product deals with existing and potential new partners. The company also has business relationships in 14 countries and currently is shipping products to five of them, with the regulatory process underway in the others.
The strategy seems to be working. The company has chalked up 23 consecutive profitable quarters, with revenue at a CAGR of 45% in the past three years and a trailing 12-month ROE of 32%. In addition, BioSyent has been self-funded, with its last equity raise in 2002 and no debt on its balance sheet.
“Our existing products and deal flow support an annual growth rate of about 20%,” Mr. Goehrum contends. “With what we have in the system now and what we see coming down the road, our sales penetration has the potential to reach $55-million to $60-million a year,” he adds. BioSyent had sales of $15.4-million in 2015.
For the second quarter this year, BioSyent posted record quarterly sales of $3.75-million from its Canadian pharmaceutical business, with international sales more than doubling year-over-year. “We continued to grow our business during the first half of 2016, while maintaining a healthy net profit margin of 24%,” he adds.
The company’s growth drivers include FeraMAX, the No. 1 therapeutic and powder treatment for iron deficient anemia in Canada, which BioSyent also ships to five international markets; RepaGyn, a hormone-free vaginal suppository; and Cathejell, a unique collapsible accordion syringe, with a trauma-free applicator that enables single-handed application and is used in about 220 hospitals and clinics in Canada.
Mr. Goehrum says the company is converting its FeraMAX 150 therapeutic to a “vegan certified” product and expects the process to be completed by the end of September. FeraMAX is sold in about 8,000 pharmacies in Canada.
BioSyent recently began shipping CYSVIEW, a patented technology designed to selectively target malignant cells in the bladder and induce fluorescence in conjunction with blue light cystoscopy. CYSVIEW has been marketed in the U.S. and Europe since 2006 and shown to improve the detection of bladder cancer tumors by about 25%, compared with white light cystoscopy.
In the fourth quarter this year, BioSyent plans to launch Aguettant phenylephrine, the second product in its Aguettant line of pre-filled syringes. Aguettant atropine was launched in 2015 and a third product is in regulatory review, Mr. Goehrum notes.
One of BioSyent’s growth drivers includes FeraMAX, the No. 1 therapeutic and powder treatment for iron deficient anemia in Canada, which BioSyent also ships to five international markets.
