Dong-A ST’s Q2 operating profit falls 19% on year due to smaller prescription drugs sales
Dong-A ST posted 157.7 billion won ($113.9 million) in sales in the second quarter of this year but its operating profit fell.
DONG-A ST said Friday that it recorded 157.7 billion in sales and 7.1 billion won in operating profit in the second quarter of this year. On a year-on-year basis, sales increased by 2.3 percent but operating profit decreased by 18.9 percent. Sales of the ethical-the-counter (ETC), or prescription-based, drugs increased 5.3 percent year-on-year to 108 billion won.
In particular, the sales of Growtropin, a human growth hormone drug, increased 35.4 percent to 28.2 billion won, leading to an increase in ETC sales. In addition, sales of Motilitone, a functional dyspepsia treatment, increased 16.3 percent to 9 billion won, and sales of Jublia, a nail athlete's foot treatment, and Edarbi, a hypertension treatment, also increased slightly year-on-year.
However, sales of some prescription drugs declined as the business environment worsened due to the protracted medical turmoil.
Sales of antihistamine Twolion was 2.1 billion won (-16.5 percent), gastritis treatment Styrene was 4.2 billion won (-14.8 percent), peptic ulcer treatment Gaster was 4.7 billion won (-12.9 percent), and diabetes treatment Suganon was 6.2 billion won (-10.2 percent).
Sales in the overseas business decreased by 7.8 percent year-on-year to 37.7 billion won. That was due to a 7.8 percent decrease in sales of canned Bacchus products exported to Cambodia.
Operating profit for the second quarter decreased 18.9 percent year-on-year due to higher R&D expenses and sales, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Dong-A ST spent 26.4 billion won on R&D expenses in the second quarter, up 16.3 percent.
Through its U.S. subsidiary NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Dong-A ST is conducting global phase 2 clinical trials for DA-1241, a treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MSAH)) and type 2 diabetes, and global phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for DA-1726, an obesity treatment.
In Korea, the company completed the phase 3 study of DA-8010 for overactive bladder in May and is in phase 1 studies of DA-4505 for immuno-oncology and DA-7503 for dementia.
Besides, DMB-3115, Dong-A ST’s biosimilar for Stelara, completed its application for approval to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in June last year and to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October.