Swedish biotech company Oncopeptides AB reported a 62% year-over-year increase in net sales for the second quarter of 2026, reaching SEK 31.1 million compared with SEK 19.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the first half of the year grew 74% to SEK 56.5 million, up from SEK 32.5 million in H1 2025, while gross margin remained at 98% for the six-month period.
The company narrowed its EBIT loss to SEK 86.2 million in H1 2026 from SEK 116.1 million in the prior-year period, as operating expenses totaled SEK 81.1 million in Q2 alone. Sales and marketing costs rose to SEK 40.8 million, while research and development spending increased to SEK 23.5 million. Oncopeptides maintained guidance for full-year operating expenses of approximately SEK 300 million, broadly in line with 2025 levels.
Oncopeptides raised SEK 167 million through a rights issue in March, bolstering its cash position to SEK 157.6 million at quarter-end. The company reiterated its target of achieving positive cash flow by 2027, supported by ongoing label expansion efforts for its multiple myeloma drug Pepaxti.
A Type II variation application for third-line use of Pepaxti was submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in May 2026. The proposed expansion would allow treatment after two prior therapies rather than three, removing the triple-class refractory requirement and potentially doubling the addressable patient population in Europe. The EHA/EMN guidelines already include Pepaxti with a 1B recommendation.
The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is expected to issue an opinion between September and November 2026, with a final European Commission decision anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027. A positive outcome would enable a German launch shortly thereafter, followed by first sales under the Salus partnership in Central and Eastern Europe in 2027.
Oncopeptides also advanced its glioblastoma program OPD5 into clinical development, enrolling the first patient in a window-of-opportunity study during Q2 2026. Preclinical data showed OPD5 achieving 100% central nervous system bioavailability compared with approximately 30% for temozolomide, with high cytotoxicity against glioblastoma and low sensitivity to MGMT-mediated DNA repair upregulation.
The company achieved pricing in Slovenia in August as the first milestone under its Salus partnership, while Spain delivered all-time high sales in June despite healthcare worker strikes. Pepaxti holds market exclusivity in approved territories until 2037, with the European addressable market for its fourth-line indication estimated at SEK 1.5 billion and the global glioblastoma market valued at over $8 billion.
