Dong-A ST said Wednesday that it recorded 135.6 billion won ($126.7 million) in sales in the first quarter of this year, a 1.9 percent increase from the same period of 2017.

The company also registered 10.5 billion won in operating profit in the same period, a drastic 113.4 percent increase from a year ago, while recording 7.6 billion won in net profit, turning to a surplus from a deficit.

The company’s research and development expenditures, however, dropped 7.5 percent to 17.9 billion won. Dong-A ST noted that although R&D expenses slightly declined in the first quarter due to the implementation of clinical development, annual investment is expected to expand from last year.

“Sales in the first quarter increased thanks to a rise in sales of major products such as Motilitone and Plavitor and sales of new products such as Jublia and Contrav,” a company official said. “Overseas sales also increased owing to the successful bidding of Grotrofins bidding in Brazil.”

Regarding operating profit, the company noted that it rose on a robust COGS-to-sales ratio and commission income from license fees for DA-9801, a treatment for diabetic neuropathy.

“In the R&D division, we established an early-stage anticancer drug pipeline through a joint research agreement with AstraZeneca and ABL Bio, as well as the development of DA-4501, which is a new immunological anti-cancer drug,” the company official said. “Phase 1 clinical trial for DA-1241, a diabetes treatment, is also underway in the U.S. and we are planning to apply for IND in the second quarter of this year.”

Phase 2 clinical trials for the DA-9805, a treatment for Parkinson's disease, are also underway, and the company plans to run phase 2 clinical trials for DA-8010, an oversensitive bladder treatment, in Korea in the second quarter of this year, the official added.

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