Donga ST Posts KRW 187.1 Billion in Sales and KRW 10.8 Billion in Operating Profit for Q1

Up 10.7% and 53.7% Year-on-Year, Respectively

Growth in Ethical Pharmaceuticals Drives Performance

Donga ST recorded double-digit growth in both sales and operating profit for the first quarter of this year, driven by the growth of its ethical pharmaceuticals (ETC) business.

View of Dong-A ST. Dong-A ST

According to a statement released on April 27, Donga ST reported standalone sales of KRW 187.1 billion for the first quarter of this year, up 10.7% from the same period last year. During the same period, operating profit rose by 53.7% to KRW 10.8 billion.

First-quarter sales in the ETC segment reached KRW 144 billion, an increase of 22.8% compared to last year. In addition to the steady growth of its flagship products, expanded sales of newly introduced items such as Jacuvo, Diphereline, Tanamin, and Elidel Cream drove this growth.

The digital healthcare segment achieved sales of KRW 1.8 billion in the first quarter, surpassing 50% of last year’s annual sales in just one quarter. However, sales in the overseas business segment decreased by 17.5% year-on-year, totaling KRW 33.7 billion.

In the research and development (R&D) sector, major pipeline development is ongoing. The treatments for MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) and type 2 diabetes, DA-1241, which are being developed via its U.S. affiliate Metavia, have completed global Phase 2a clinical trials. The obesity treatment DA-1726 is currently undergoing a global Phase 1a clinical trial. In April, the company administered the first patient in Part 3 of the Phase 1 clinical trial, aiming to confirm safety and optimize tolerance at high doses based on a dose escalation strategy.

Donga ST and its subsidiary Aptys presented results from ten non-clinical studies on next-generation oncology pipelines—including a PARP7 inhibitor, an EGFR-targeted protein degrader, and a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)—at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

A spokesperson for Donga ST said, "The stable growth in the ETC segment and the expansion of newly introduced products led to improved first-quarter sales. As our digital healthcare business has also entered a growth trajectory, its contribution to future performance is expected to increase. We will further strengthen our R&D competitiveness and accelerate our entry into the global market through a strategy of selection and concentration."

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