(Yicai) May 14 -- Legend Biotech’s net losses in the first quarter almost halved from the same period last year thanks to strong overseas sales of its first drug, a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatment, and the Chinese cell-based therapy developer said it expects to turn a profit by 2026.

Legend Biotech’s net losses narrowed 46.6 percent in the first three months from a year earlier to USD59.8 million, the Nanjing-based company said in its latest financial report released yesterday.

Carvykti, which is used to treat multiple myeloma which is a blood cancer affecting plasma cells, is Legend Biotech's first product on the market. The drug was given the go ahead by US regulators in February 2022, but has yet to launch in mainland China.

In 2017, Legend Biotech entered into a distribution agreement with Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, formerly called Janssen Pharmaceutica and a part of Belgian drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, that entitles the Chinese firm to 70 percent of Carvykti’s revenue in China and half of that in the EU, the US and Japan.

Sales of Carvykti reached USD157 million in the first quarter, with half of that amount going to Legend Biotech. Carvykti had achieved cumulative net sales of USD790 million as of March 31 from the time it entered overseas markets in 2022.

Carvykti is being approved for more medical indications abroad. In April it was given the greenlight for secondary treatment of multiple myeloma in the US, Europe, and Brazil.

Legend Biotech and Johnson & Johnson recently linked up with Swiss pharma giant Novartis to boost the production of Carvykti to 10,000 doses by the end of next year.

The firm had cash and cash equivalents as well as short-term investments of USD1.3 billion as of March 31, which will provide financial reserves until 2026.

In January last year, Legend Biotech's application for the injectable form of Carvykti to go to market was accepted by China's National Medical Products Administration.

Editor: Kim Taylor