Daewoong Pharmaceutical said that the company achieved its highest-ever annual performance in 2023 across three key metrics -- sales, operating profit, and operating profit margin.

On a standalone basis, the company reported sales of 1.2 trillion won ($900 million), an operating profit of 133.4 billion won, and an operating profit margin of 11 percent.

Notably, sales increased by 5.23 percent, and operating profit increased by 26 percent from the previous year, with the operating profit margin also rising by 2 percentage points.

The company stressed that its exceptional performance was largely driven by the robust growth of its specialty pharmaceuticals, including the domestically developed drugs Fexuclue (fexuprazan), a gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment, Envlo (enavogliflozin), a diabetes drug, and the continued success of its global botulinum toxin (BTX) product, Nabota.

"Fexuclue, in its second year since launch, spearheaded growth, while Enblo, introduced last year, successfully secured its market position," the company said. "Nabota has expanded its influence from the cosmetic to the therapeutic markets, particularly in major markets such as the U.S. and Europe."

In detail, the sales of prescription drugs, ethical drugs (ETC) reached 872.5 billion won, with Fexuclue achieving cumulative sales of approximately 72 billion won.

The company expects Fexuclue's growth to continue as its product licensing applications and technology exports extend to a total of 24 countries.

"Envlo has been successfully introduced to major hospitals based on its efficacy and safety, and the company has expanded its lineup with the launch of Enblomet, a metformin combination drug, just six months after launching Envlo," the company said. "The drug is also making strides in global markets with export contracts signed with Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)."

BTX business also continues to grow

Nabota also continued its growth trajectory, recording sales of 147 billion won, with approximately 80 percent of its revenue generated from exports.

Following its success in the U.K., Germany, Austria, and Italy, Nabota is also focusing on expanding its therapeutic indications globally in collaboration with AEON Biopharma, Inc., for conditions such as chronic migraine, cervical dystonia, gastroparesis, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

To support the continued growth of Nabota and its expansion into therapeutic indications, Daewoong began construction of its third Nabota manufacturing facility last year. Once completed, the annual production capacity of Nabota is expected to increase by 260 percent to 18 million vials.

Aside from product sales, Daewoong has proven its R&D capabilities through successful technology exports worth approximately 1.36 trillion won last year.

Highlights include a 413 billion won technology export agreement for fibrosis drug candidate bersiporocin with U.K.-based CS Pharmaceutical Group and a 115 billion won technology export contract for Envlo in Latin America with Brazilian pharmaceutical company Moksha8.

"Despite the uncertain business environment, Daewoong has achieved its best-ever results in sales, operating profit, and operating profit margin, driven by the continuous growth of our new drugs and Nabota," Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Lee Chang-jae said. "The company's commitment to focusing on core innovative drugs and strengthening new pipelines in R&D and digital healthcare will lead to the company emerging as a leading national healthcare group."