Daewoong Pharmaceutical earned 13.6 billion won ($11.1 million) by exporting its botulinum toxin Nabota in the first quarter. However, all of the revenue was offset by expenses for its ongoing lawsuit against Medytox over the origin of BTX strain in the United States.
Daewoong said on Thursday that Nobota sales in the first quarter amounted to 15.1 billion won in the first quarter, up 174 percent from 5.5 billion won in the same period last year. The robust revenue growth was attributed to the release of BTX in the U.S. with the brand name Jeuveau in 2019.
Among the 15.1 billion won first-quarter sales of Nabota, 13.6 billion won came from exports. The BTX export volume in the first quarter shot up 300 percent from a year earlier.
However, the company spent 13.7 billion won on the lawsuit against Medytox in the first three months, offsetting 13.6 billion won sales and making a 100 million won loss.
Daewoong and Medytox have been fighting over the source of Nabota’s BTX strain in the U.S. since last year. The U.S. International Trade Commission began its investigation into Jeuveau in March, as the court decided to accept the Medytox’s complaint in March.
As the lawsuit prolonged, Daewoong’s expenses also increased. The company spent 21 billion won on the legal battle against Medytox in 2019, and an additional 13.7 billion won in the first quarter. In total, the company’s lawsuit expenses have amounted to 34.7 billion won.
According to Daewoong’s separated financial statement, the company’s sales in the first quarter inched down 4.1 percent to 228.4 billion won, and operating profit, plunging 87.7 percent to 1.3 billion won, compared to a year earlier. The company posted a 1.2 billion won net loss.
However, Daewoong expected that its lawsuit expenses would go down significantly in the second quarter.
“As the ITC is expected to make a preliminary ruling in the second quarter, expenses will be reduced,” an official at Daewoong said.
As the drugmaker is pinning hopes on other emerging pipelines, including gastric acid blocker fexuprazan, the company’s earnings are likely to improve, he added.