Quansin Bio interprets its first annual profit report since listing: over 800 million yuan in revenue masks underlying structural concerns

Ask AI · How does a single revenue structure affect a company’s long-term profit sustainability?

Per reporter: Chen Xing    Per editor: Yang Jun

On March 31, Quanxin Bio (HK02509, share price HK$19.08, market capitalization HK$4.285 billion) held its 2025 annual results briefing. At the briefing, the company’s management provided an interpretation of its first annual earnings report since it went public.

This innovative drug company focuses on autoimmune and allergic diseases and achieved annual profitability for the first time since listing. Judging from its revenue structure, outbound licensing transactions are the main reason behind Quanxin Bio’s performance surge this time.

A reporter from The Daily Economic News noted that under the glow of profitability, the company still faces multiple challenges, including a single revenue structure and unproven commercialization capabilities.

2025 turns losses into profits

In 2025, Quanxin Bio achieved total revenue of RMB 807 million, up 408.2% from RMB 159 million in 2024. The company’s profit for the year reached RMB 307 million. Compared with the loss of RMB 350 million in the same period of 2024, it successfully turned losses into profits. After excluding non-cash items such as share-based payments, the adjusted profit for the year was RMB 356 million.

From the perspective of revenue structure, outbound licensing transactions are the main reason for Quanxin Bio’s performance surge this time. The authorization from the NewCo model licensing agreement the company reached with Caldera Therapeutics for QX030N (IL-23p19/TL1A bispecific antibody), as well as the global exclusive license agreement it reached with Roche for QX031N (TSLP/IL-33 bispecific antibody), together contributed RMB 723 million in licensing revenue. Among them, the upfront payment for the Roche transaction was as high as US$75 million.

Regarding the strategic significance of its BD business to the company’s cash flow, Quanxin Bio’s management said at the briefing: “Although each BD may have different milestones or corresponding revenue in different years, for us we can rely on BD to form a relatively stable cash flow. Every year, there are different products that can reach different milestones and collect different payments, so this is a very solid foundation for the company’s future cash flow.”

As the company’s only currently listed product, Sailerxin (QX001S, ustequinumab biosimilar) achieved nearly RMB 300 million in domestic sales in its first full natural year. The product was approved in October 2024. As of June 2025, Quanxin Bio has shipped more than 60,000 doses to its partner Huadong Medicine, and the number of hospitals that have issued prescriptions exceeds 1,200. However, Sailerxin’s actual contribution to its parent company’s revenue is mainly reflected at the supply-revenue level. In 2025, that revenue increased by only about RMB 9 million, meaning that most terminal sales profit belongs to commercialization partners.

On the cash flow side, as of December 31, 2025, Quanxin Bio’s total cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, and financial assets measured at fair value amounted to RMB 1.042 billion, up 87.4% from the beginning of the year. This cash reserve provides a buffer for the company’s subsequent R&D investment and pipeline advancement.

Regarding expectations for breakeven, Quanxin Bio’s management provided a pragmatic assessment. Although the high growth in 2025 mainly came from BD revenue, the company values sustainable revenue more, such as drug sales and profit-sharing. Based on this benchmark, together with the pace of clinical development and commercialization, it is expected that breakeven based on drug sales revenue can be achieved around 2028. If, in the future, there continues to be a large amount of BD revenue, the breakeven point will come earlier.

“Monoclonal antibodies + bispecific antibodies” dual-engine drive

At the results briefing, Quanxin Bio’s management summarized the company’s strategic positioning as “a dual-engine drive powered by monoclonal antibodies and bispecific antibodies”—by using monoclonal antibody products to strengthen the certainty of domestic commercialization as a core foundation, and at the same time using overseas authorization participation from the bispecific antibody pipeline to compete in the global market.

Quanxin Bio’s management explained this strategic logic in detail at the briefing: “Overall, our own iteration approach is very clear. We occupy some domestic markets with our monoclonal antibodies, providing a very solid commercial baseline and future commercialization certainty. At the same time, through cooperation on bispecific antibodies, we further expand the company’s value in overseas markets.”

In the monoclonal antibody segment, Quanxin Bio has already built a portfolio of 5 products with strong commercialization certainty, covering four major disease areas: dermatology, respiratory, digestive, and rheumatology. Apart from the already launched Sailerxin, Lusetzhita monoclonal antibody (QX002N, IL-17A monoclonal antibody) for the NDA of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has been accepted for review in March 2026, and the company plans to pilot sales by building a small-scale commercialization team. Otocqibai monoclonal antibody (QX005N, IL-4Rα monoclonal antibody) has reached the primary endpoints in Phase III clinical trials for two indications—nodular pruritus (PN) and atopic dermatitis (AD)—and the NDA is expected to be submitted in batches during 2026. In addition, QX004N (IL-23p19 monoclonal antibody), in cooperation with Hansoh Pharma, and QX008N (TSLP monoclonal antibody), in cooperation with Health? Yuan, are in Phase III and Phase II clinical stages, respectively.

For future expectations for the monoclonal antibody segment, Quanxin Bio’s management provided a clear timetable and quantified targets at the briefing: “By 2030, all 5 monoclonal antibodies will be approved for commercialization, and they will form a total market size of about RMB 4 billion to RMB 5 billion at market terminals. If we average it out, and if we take a 10% royalty, we can also reach a net profit scale of around RMB 400 million to RMB 500 million.” It should be noted that this forecast is based on the assumption that all pipelines are approved smoothly and that the market competition landscape will not undergo dramatic changes, and therefore involves significant uncertainty.

In the bispecific antibody segment, Quanxin Bio is advancing 4 long-acting autoimmune bispecific antibodies into clinical development. Among them, QX030N has initiated enrollment of the first patient in Australia in January 2026. QX031N, in cooperation with Roche, has initiated Phase I clinical trials in New Zealand in March 2026. QX027N has initiated a Phase I clinical trial domestically in December 2025. At the briefing, management specifically emphasized the company’s execution strength in the bispecific antibody field: “Up to now, the 4 disclosed bispecific antibodies started from last December, and by this March they have successively entered the clinical stage. This is a reflection of our execution strength in the bispecific antibody area.”

Revenue structure highly dependent on licensing transactions

Despite its impressive performance in 2025, Quanxin Bio also faces challenges that cannot be ignored.

First, Quanxin Bio’s revenue structure is highly dependent on licensing transactions. Of the total revenue of RMB 807 million in 2025, the portion from licensing revenue accounts for nearly 90%. The supply revenue from Sailerxin is only about RMB 9 million, and CDMO service revenue is about RMB 36 million. This means the company’s current profit base is built on sporadic BD transactions rather than sustainable product sales revenue.

If, in the future, the pace of licensing transactions slows down, or milestone payments are delayed because the clinical progress of authorized products does not meet expectations, Quanxin Bio’s revenue may experience substantial fluctuations.

Second, there is considerable uncertainty in overseas R&D for the bispecific antibody pipeline. At present, Quanxin Bio’s outbound bispecific antibody products are all at early clinical stages. In the autoimmune bispecific antibody space, no blockbuster products have been launched yet. If negative data emerges, it could affect the ability to obtain subsequent milestone payments and even lead to termination of the licensing cooperation.

Third, competition in the domestic market is intensifying. In the IL-4Rα target area, Sanofi’s dupilumab (Dupixent) has already been approved for multiple indications in China, with global sales of about US$18 billion in 2025. Domestically, same-target products from companies such as Conor? and Kangfang Bio have also entered late-stage clinical development. As a later entrant, Otocqibai bispecific antibody faces fierce market competition in AD, a core indication. The company chooses a strategy to prioritize development for the PN indication, which can help it avoid some competition, but the patient population for PN is far smaller than that for AD, leaving limited room at the commercialization “ceiling.”

Fourth, there is uncertainty regarding the actual contribution of sales profit-sharing. Several of Quanxin Bio’s monoclonal antibody products are co-developed with partners such as Huadong Medicine, Hansoh Pharma, and Health? Yuan. Quanxin Bio obtains profit-sharing from these partners, but the profit-sharing ratios, settlement methods, and partners’ commercialization execution will all affect the final cash flow contribution. Currently, besides Sailerxin being launched, the other products are in clinical or NDA stages, and realization of sales profit-sharing still requires several years.

Taken together, in 2025 Quanxin Bio completed its identity shift from an R&D-focused company to a profit-making company, but whether profitability is sustainable, the clinical advancement pace of the pipeline, and the commercialization landing in the domestic market are the true variables that determine the company’s long-term value.

The Daily Economic News