[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Daewoong Pharmaceutical achieved the 'triple crown' by recording the highest sales, operating profit, and operating profit ratio ever for two consecutive years.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical (CEO Lee Chang-jae and Park Sung-soo) announced on the 10th that it has once again renewed its best performance since its establishment in just one year with sales of KRW 1.2654 trillion, operating profit of KRW 163.8 billion, and an operating profit ratio of 13% on an individual basis in 2024. In particular, operating profit grew by 23% year-on-year, and the operating profit ratio also increased by 18%.

The outstanding performance of major items in the prescription drug market and the continued growth of 'Nabota', which is standing out in the global market, have led to the 'triple crown' for two consecutive years. Domestic new drugs 'Pexuclu' and 'Enblo', which were launched in 2022 and 2023 respectively, and the national liver medicine 'Urusa' showed remarkable growth and led the performance, and Nabota has firmly established itself as a 'major toxin' by continuing to grow in the global market including the US.

▲Pexuclu becomes a 100 billion blockbuster in its 3rd year, and Urusado is also expected to reach 100 billion

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's lineup of prescription drugs recorded sales of KRW 860.5 billion, reaffirming its overwhelming influence in the market. It led the overall growth based on the balanced growth of new drugs such as Pexuclu and Enblo, as well as co-promotion items such as Crejet, Diabex, Lixiana, and Sevikar.

The 34th domestic new drug, Pexuclu, achieved a monumental feat of becoming a blockbuster product with annual sales of 100 billion won in just three years after its launch, with combined domestic and global sales of over 100 billion won last year. Pexuclu is growing rapidly in the market by improving the shortcomings of existing PPI preparations, such as slow efficacy, short half-life, and low convenience of taking. The 36th domestic new drug, Enblo, also surpassed annual sales of 10 billion won for the first time last year, standing out in the SGLT-2 inhibitor market based on its excellent blood sugar lowering effect.

Urussa raised sales of 96.2 billion won, raising expectations for achieving 100 billion won this year. Recently, research results on not only improving liver function but also preventing COVID-19 and inhibiting its severe progression have been published one after another, and it is once again receiving attention as it is listed in the Korean gastric cancer treatment guidelines for its effectiveness in preventing gallstones in gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy.

▲Nabota accelerates global performance, establishing itself as a ‘major toxin’

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's high-purity, high-quality botulinum toxin Nabota has established itself as a true 'major toxin' by growing significantly last year, focusing on the global market. Nabota recorded annual sales of KRW 186.4 billion last year, growing 27% year-on-year. Exports account for approximately 84% of Nabota's sales. In particular, in the United States, the world's largest botulinum toxin market, it has settled in second place with a 13% share of the cosmetic toxin market.

Last January, we officially launched Nabota in Saudi Arabia, the largest botulinum toxin market in the Middle East, and began to attack the Middle Eastern market in earnest. Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to lead the growth of Nabota this year based on its excellent product capabilities of high purity and high quality and solid partnerships with partners.

▲ Strengthening the discovery of future growth engines such as digital healthcare and innovative new drug development

Daewoong Pharmaceutical is also leading the digital healthcare sector, which is receiving a lot of attention due to the rapid development of AI technology and the aging population, and is actively moving forward to promote ‘national health.’

Recently, the company is expanding its market base based on its digital healthcare lineup, including the smart hospital monitoring system Think (thynC™), which was the first domestic digital healthcare device to receive insurance coverage for ‘monitoring using remote cardiac rhythm technology (EX871)’, ▲continuous blood glucose meter ‘Freestyle Libre’, ▲wearable electrocardiogram device ‘Mobicare’, ▲ring-type continuous blood pressure meter ‘CartBP’, and ▲AI blindness diagnosis assistance solution ‘Whiskey’. Mobicare achieved the No. 1 market share in the domestic wearable electrocardiogram market, and tests are being conducted in approximately 840 hospitals and clinics nationwide, and CartBP is being conducted in approximately 1,200 hospitals and clinics in just four months since its release.

We are also continuing to focus on new drug development. Versiforosin (DWN12088), a candidate drug for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is being developed with the goal of being a first-in-class drug, has been designated as an orphan drug and a development item under the fast-track review system by the US FDA and is currently undergoing global phase 2 clinical trials.

The first self-developed anticancer drug candidate DWP216 and the candidate DWP220, which is currently under development as the world's first oral new drug for severe liver fibrosis, were selected as national new drug development projects last year, and the company is continuing to invest in building a metabolic obesity portfolio including oral GLP-1·GIP receptor dual agonists, long-acting injectables, and microneedle patches.

Lee Chang-jae, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, “Despite intensifying competition in the industry and increasing internal and external uncertainty, the three innovative new drugs, Pexuclu, Enblo, and Nabota, led the growth, while traditional products such as Urusa also achieved an unprecedented triple crown for two consecutive years.” He added, “While continuing to invest in the rapidly growing digital healthcare market, we will leap forward as a global healthcare company representing the world beyond Korea through continuous development of innovative new drugs.”