(Yicai) Aug. 22 -- Simcere Pharmaceutical Group and Raynovent, which both received the greenlight to take their Covid-19 orally taken treatments to market earlier this year, reported substantial increases in net profit in the first six months, despite the pandemic coming under control.

Simcere, which makes the pill Xiannuoxin, posted a 34-fold surge in net profit in the six months ended June 30 from the same period last year to CNY2.3 billion (USD313.1 million), while revenue soared 25.2 percent to CNY3.4 billion (USD466.2 million), according to the Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu province-based drugmaker’s latest earnings report.

While Raynovent, which produces the tablet Leruiling, logged net profit of CNY16.8 million (USD2.3 million) in the first half, a big turnaround from the losses of CNY57.1 million it reported a year earlier, according to the latest financial report released by the unit of Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical.

According to the earnings report, revenue from innovative drugs such as Xiannuoxin accounted for 71.4 percent of Simcere’s total revenue in the first half at CNY2.4 billion (USD329 million), a year-on-year gain of 36.6 percent.

Sales of Xiannuoxin over the period came to CNY250 million (USD34 million), but future revenue from the drug remains uncertain, a company executive said today. There should still be relatively large demand for the tablet even though the pandemic is waning, he added.

There is stiff competition between the two drugs. Both pills are included in the national medical insurance scheme and both are similarly priced. Xiannuoxin is available for CNY630 (USD87) a box while Leruiling costs CNY628 a box.

The two companies are also doing their best to penetrate the market. Xiannuoxin is now available in 32 provinces, 306 cities and over 2,500 hospitals in China and can treat millions of people every month, Simcere said.

Zhongsheng Pharma continues to promote sales nationwide through an integrated online and offline model, the Dongguan, southern Guangdong province-based firm said.

Simcere's share price [HKG:2096] dipped 1.1 percent to finish the day at HKD6.29 (USD0.80) today while Zhongsheng Pharma’s stock [SHE:002317] closed down 3 percent at CNY14.80 (USD2).

Editor: Kim Taylor