Dong-A ST said Thursday that it recorded sales of 612.2 billion won ($518.2 million) last year, up 7.9 percent from 2018.

Dong-A ST headquarters in Yongdu-dong, eastern Seoul

The company also registered 57 billion won in operating profit, up 44.5 percent, while posting a net profit of 65 billion won, a drastic 270.3 percent increase, over the cited period.

"Sales grew in 2019 thanks to the ethical drug division following the growth of flagship products such as Suganon, Motilitone, Edarbi, and Jublia," the company said. "Exports also increased thanks to the growth of Bacchus and tuberculosis drug Closerin, and we saw a sales increase in medical and diagnostics devices with the introduction of new products."

The company gave credit to even growth in all sectors and one-off commission for its steep profit gains. "Notably, the company saw a high net profit increase because of valuation gains from the listing of NeuroBo Pharmaceutical in the U.S. Nasdaq stock market," the company said.

Dong-A ST showed expectations for this year, too, as the R&D into its main pipeline is also cruising.

The company said that it has completed its U.S. phase 2a clinical trial for DA-9805, a Parkinson's disease treatment, and expects to wrap up the local phase 2 trial for DA-8010, an overactive bladder treatment, during the first half of this year.

Also, the company plans to complete its local phase 1 clinical trial for DA-5207, a weekly patch-type dementia treatment, in the first half of this year. At the same time, it has received approval to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial for the drug candidate in India.

It said DA-9801, a diabetic neuropathy treatment licensed out to NeuroBo, will be tested soon in a phase 3 trial in the U.S.

corea022@docdocdoc.co.kr

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