Bukwang Pharmaceutical (003000.KS) posted higher third-quarter revenue and operating profit on wider prescriptions of its key prescription drugs. On a nine-month basis, however, operating profit fell as research and development costs rose.
Third-quarter preliminary revenue on a consolidated basis came to 58 billion won ($40.5 million) and operating profit to 2.2 billion won, up 21.2% and 120.7% from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing on the 23rd.
Revenue for the first three quarters rose 17.8% from the same period a year earlier to 162.7 billion won. Operating profit for the period fell 22.2% to 4.7 billion won. Cumulative R&D spending climbed 29.5% from a year earlier to 16.9 billion won, driven by work on CP-012, a drug candidate for early-morning akinesia in Parkinson's disease, weighing on profitability. Contera Pharma, a subsidiary, has won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a Phase 2 trial plan for CP-012 and is preparing to begin the study.
Revenue growth was led by wider prescriptions of key strategic products. Outpatient prescriptions of strategic prescription drugs rose 9% from a year earlier. Central nervous system products gained 20%, outpacing the 9% growth of the overall CNS market. Latuda, a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, passed 20 billion won in cumulative sales in July, two years after its launch. The company has launched three domestic Phase 3 trials to expand Latuda's indications to major depressive disorder, part of an effort to strengthen the product's competitiveness.
In the fourth quarter, Bukwang Pharmaceutical plans to focus on expanding prescriptions of Latuda and its cardiovascular and respiratory products. It also plans to rename Union Korea Pharm (080720) as Bukwang Unipharma and expand its production portfolio for antibiotics and injectables.
"We will strengthen the competitiveness of our existing businesses by pursuing growth in key strategic products alongside expanded R&D investment," an official at Bukwang Pharmaceutical said. "We plan to build a foundation for medium- to long-term growth through new drug development."