(Yicai) Aug. 28 -- Chinese drugmaker InnoCare Pharma swung into the black in the first half of the year, buoyed by a rapid growth in revenue from overseas licensing deals.

Net profit totaled CNY239.7 million (USD35.7 million) in the six months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of CNY35.6 million (USD5.3 million) a year earlier, the Beijing-based firm said in its semiannual earnings report on Aug. 25. Revenue climbed 56 percent to CNY1.1 billion (USD169.6 million).

InnoCare’s drug sales rose 43 percent to CNY918.1 million in the first half from the same period last year, while revenue from business collaborations, including overseas licensing deals, surged 142 percent to CNY213. 4 million. Revenue from the United States alone jumped 162 percent to CNY218.7 million in the period.

“With further growth in drug sales and the realization of business development-related milestone revenues in the second half of the year, we expect to maintain profitability for the full year and report earnings per share higher than in the first half,” InnoCare’s Chief Financial Officer Xin Fu said during the earnings conference call.

In August, InnoCare’s subsidiary in the US reached a milestone for drug candidate orelabrutinib (ICP-022) under a licensing agreement with Zenas BioPharma, securing two million shares of the US clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and USD25 million in cash. Worth over USD2 billion, the deal granted Zenas global rights to orelabrutinib for multiple sclerosis and other non-oncology indications.

In January last year, InnoCare and Chinese peer KeyMed Biosciences jointly licensed bispecific antibody ICP-B02, also called CM355, to Prolium Bioscience for up to USD520 million and a minority stake in the US clinical-stage biotechnology company.

InnoCare's evolving revenue mix comes amid a broader trend of Chinese drugmakers actively licensing their products abroad. China's National Medical Products Administration said that Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies completed 81 out-licensing deals with a potential total value of about USD110 billion in the first half of this year, equal to roughly 80 percent of last year's total.

In their recent interim financial statements, other Chinese drugmakers have also released figures for their overseas licensing business. For instance, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group said its licensing revenue surged 449 percent to CNY5.9 billion in the first half from a year earlier, mainly thanks to an USD840 million upfront payment from AstraZeneca tied to a deal signed in January.

Hengrui Pharmaceuticals saw its licensing income from innovative drugs rise to CNY1.4 billion in the first half, accounting for about 9.2 percent of its total revenue, mainly thanks to revenue recognized under its licensing deal with UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and a milestone payment from Braveheart Bio, a US-listed biotech firm to which Hengrui licensed a heart drug candidate.

Editor: Futura Costaglione