Shield Therapeutics, the Gateshead-based specialty pharma group behind the iron deficiency drug Accrufer, posted its first operating profit as growing licensing income from international partners complemented direct sales growth in the US.
The company reports in US dollars. In the six months to 30 June 2026, group revenue rose 42 per cent to $30.4m, up from $21.4m a year earlier. That turned a $5.8m operating loss into an operating profit of $209,000, and narrowed the net loss for the half from $9.5m to $2.3m. The board says the group remains on track for full-year operating profitability in 2026.
The improvement reflects two distinct revenue sources. Direct US sales of Accrufer grew 5 per cent to $20.1m, still the larger part of revenue. Royalty and milestone income from Shield's international partners grew far faster, to $10.3m from $2.2m, made up of a $7.9m development milestone from Chinese partner ASK Pharma, $2.1m of royalties from Norgine in Europe and $0.3m from Kye Pharmaceuticals in Canada.
The China payment is a licensing milestone rather than a sale. ASK Pharma does not yet sell the drug, marketed elsewhere as Ferracru or Accrufer, in China; the payment falls due at an agreed development stage ahead of a targeted 2027 launch there and in Korea.
On the US side, prescriptions grew 21 per cent to around 102,000. The company also secured its first group purchasing organisation contract, opening access to more than 400 additional clinics, and gained a newly approved paediatric indication.
Changes to New York's Medicaid prior-authorisation rules in May cut Shield's retained prescriptions there sharply, to about 5 per cent of the previous level. The company shifted more of its US sales effort toward commercially insured patients, already two-thirds of revenue, which grew 27 per cent in the half.
The remaining net loss is largely a financing cost: $2.3m of financial expense, mostly loan interest, more than offsetting the operating profit. Cash fell to $8.3m at the end of June, from $11.6m at the start of the year. Directors say the group has adequate liquidity for at least the next 12 months, citing cash flow forecasts through December 2027 and access to further financing options including royalty finance.
Chief executive Anders Lundstrom said the growth in commercially insured patients had driven "strong overall prescription growth" despite the New York Medicaid changes, and pointed to the new group purchasing contract and paediatric indication as further US growth drivers.
The next milestone for the model is 2027, when the planned China and Korea launches could begin adding recurring royalty income alongside the stream Norgine already provides from Europe. In the US, the nearer-term driver is continued prescription growth from the new clinics and the paediatric indication.