According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 18th, SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS has signed a total of seven cenobamate supply contracts with SK Life Sciences this year, worth approximately 452.9 billion won. This represents a 20.7% increase compared to last year’s total of approximately 375.3 billion won. Considering that the fourth quarter is still ahead, the annual supply contract value for this year could grow even further.
It is also notable that the average contract value per deal has increased, even though the number of contracts has remained the same. While the company signed seven supply contracts in both last year and this year, the average contract value per deal rose from approximately 53.6 billion won to 64.7 billion won. In other words, the total value has increased even though the number of contracts remained the same.
The growth in supply contracts was even steeper earlier this year. From January through July 28, cumulative supply contracts totaled five, worth approximately 281.8 billion won—roughly double the 137.8 billion won recorded during the same period last year. With contracts totaling approximately 81.1 billion won in July, 99.4 billion won in August, and 71.6 billion won this month, the contract value for the three months from July to September alone reached approximately 252.1 billion won. Reflecting this, the cumulative contract value for the year has surpassed 450 billion won.
However, these contracts are internal transactions in which SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS supplies senobamate to its local subsidiary for sale in the U.S. market. In a regulatory filing, SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS explained, “These are contracts to supply the product to SK Life Sciences, our U.S. subsidiary, for sales in the U.S. market,” adding, “These are internal transactions that are not recognized as revenue in the consolidated financial statements.”
The value of internal supply and local U.S. sales cannot be considered equivalent. According to SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’s business report, all finished Excofry products are first delivered to a local third-party logistics (3PL) provider in the U.S. and then distributed to pharmacies and hospitals via wholesalers. When a wholesaler places an order, the 3PL ships the product, and sales occur locally during this process. Approximately 20 major wholesalers are involved in distribution across the United States, with three large wholesalers and six regional wholesalers forming the core network.
Due to the nature of pharmaceutical distribution, there is a time lag between wholesaler orders and final patient prescriptions. SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS also noted during its Q4 earnings call last year that revenue trends could vary due to year-end seasonality and inventory held in transit.
However, the fact that prescription metrics are rising in tandem supports the trend of increasing supply contracts. Exkofri’s U.S. sales for the first quarter of this year reached 197.7 billion won, a 48.4% increase from the same period last year. Total monthly prescriptions (TRx) in March totaled approximately 47,000, and new patient prescriptions (NBRx) set a new quarterly record. Notably, new prescriptions in March exceeded 2,000 for the first time.
This growth trend continued into the second quarter. Excofry’s U.S. sales reached 224.4 billion won, up 45.6% year-over-year and 13.5% quarter-over-quarter. SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’s U.S. sales accounted for over 90% of SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’s consolidated second-quarter revenue of 247.4 billion won. Monthly TRx in June reached a record high of 49,155. Combined U.S. sales for the first and second quarters alone totaled 422.1 billion won, demonstrating that the company’s consolidated earnings and cash generation are effectively concentrated in the Exscopri U.S. business.
The company also explained that the increase in supply contracts with its subsidiaries was due to rising order volumes resulting from the expansion of Cenobamate sales in the U.S. An SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS official stated, “Although the timing of supply does not exactly align with the timing of local sales, it can be understood that order volumes have increased as revenue and prescription volumes continue to grow.”
The company also ruled out the possibility that the contract expansion was due to temporary inventory buildup. A company official explained, “While we do manage inventory, the structure is not such that wholesalers excessively stockpile products,” adding, “This is part of the trend of increasing U.S. sales and prescriptions.”
SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’ direct sales system in the U.S. serves as the foundation supporting this expansion in prescriptions. In the U.S., there are approximately 10,000 neurologists specializing in central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as epilepsy, creating a relatively concentrated market. Consequently, the company determined that commercialization is feasible with a specialized sales force of 80 to 120 people, even without a large-scale sales network targeting general practitioners. SK Life Sciences is responding to this growth in prescriptions by directly managing its sales and marketing organization, which is staffed primarily by personnel with experience in the U.S. central nervous system (CNS) market.
The growing scale of the local subsidiary is also a positive sign. SK Life Sciences’ revenue last year reached 907.8 billion won, a 36% increase from 667.8 billion won in 2024. This indicates that the direct sales system—in which the headquarters supplies products while the local subsidiary handles sales, marketing, and distribution—is expanding alongside the growth of Excofry.
There are three key points to watch moving forward. First, all eyes are on whether TRx and new prescriptions will continue to hit record highs in the third quarter. Second, it remains to be seen whether the increase in supply contracts will continue to translate into actual sales growth rather than simply expanding inventory at the local subsidiary, 3PL, and wholesaler levels. Finally, it remains to be seen whether the expansion of Excofry’s indications and dosage forms will serve as an opportunity to broaden the base of new patients. SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS completed its New Drug Application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Excofry suspension formulation in March of this year and is also pursuing the expansion of indications to include generalized tonic-clonic seizures and pediatric patient populations.
