Daewoong Pharmaceutical Reports Q1 Operating Profit of 22.6 Billion Won... Highest in 8 Years

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Headquarters Exterior (Provided by Daewoong Pharmaceutical)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 6th that it recorded consolidated sales of 269.6 billion KRW and operating profit of 22.6 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. These represent increases of 4.7% and 305%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical explained that while prescription drugs (ETC) and over-the-counter drugs (OTC) maintained solid sales, operating profit surpassed 20 billion KRW for the first time in eight years due to receiving the contract payment for the export of the new drug for gastroesophageal reflux disease, 'Pexuprazan,' to China, and a sharp decrease in litigation expenses related to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) lawsuit.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's ETC division recorded sales of 181 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year, growing 11.7% from 162.1 billion KRW in the same period last year. Sales volumes increased for products such as Urusa (prescription drug), Lupier Depot Injection, Crezet, and imported items like Crestor, Posiga, and Lixiana.

The OTC division saw a slight increase in performance from 26.1 billion KRW in the same period last year to 26.4 billion KRW this year. High-dose vitamin B complex Impaktamin and liver function improvement agent Urusa (over-the-counter drug) maintained stable sales volumes.

Sales of the botulinum toxin 'Nabota' rose from 15.1 billion KRW in the same period last year to 15.4 billion KRW this year. Domestic sales increased, and following the ITC settlement in February, uncertainty was resolved, leading to a surge in U.S. sales, with March recording the highest performance ever. Recently, new product approvals were obtained in Turkey and Chile, with plans to launch in the third quarter of this year.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical 'Nabota' (Provided by Daewoong Pharmaceutical)

Major subsidiary HanAll Biopharma recorded sales of 27.8 billion KRW this year, up from 22.1 billion KRW in the same period last year. Operating profit increased from 3 billion KRW to 5.4 billion KRW during the same period. It is evaluated that royalties from new drug candidates such as HL036 for dry eye syndrome and HL161 for autoimmune diseases drove the performance improvement.

A Daewoong Pharmaceutical official said, “Daewoong Pharmaceutical's performance, which had not been highlighted due to various adverse factors, has begun to improve significantly. In particular, the expansion potential of Nabota in the U.S. market, having overcome uncertainties, is considerable, and it is expected to stand out in the European and Chinese markets and therapeutic indication markets where it is about to enter.” He added, “The top new drugs in the lineup, including Hoistar tablets and niclosamide injections under development as COVID-19 treatments, as well as Pexuprazan and Inavogliflozin, are each evaluated to have great market potential.”

The holding company Daewoong also announced its first-quarter management performance (consolidated) on the same day. Sales grew 6.2% year-on-year to 348.5 billion KRW, and operating profit rose 78.7% to 44.3 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.