Bukwang Pharmaceutical’s cumulative sales through Q3 rise 17.8% as operating profit falls amid R&D investment

[Financial News] BuKwang Pharmaceutical continued to post profits, increasing cumulative sales on the back of expanded prescriptions for key prescription drugs. Operating profit declined as the company increased its investment in research and development (R&D).
Bukwang Pharmaceutical said on the 23rd that it recorded cumulative consolidated revenue of 162.7 billion won and operating profit of 4.7 billion won through the third quarter of this year. Revenue rose 17.8% year over year, while operating profit fell 22.2%.
Growth was driven by expanded prescriptions of key strategic products and improved performance at subsidiaries. Out-of-hospital prescription sales of strategic ethical drug (ETC) products rose 9% year over year, while strategic central nervous system (CNS) products grew 20%. The growth rate for CNS products outpaced the market’s 9% growth rate.
Latuda (generic name: lurasidone), a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, surpassed 20 billion won in cumulative sales in July. Bukwang Pharmaceutical has begun three domestic Phase 3 clinical trials to expand its indication to major depressive disorder (MDD), aiming to strengthen the product’s competitiveness.
Profitability was affected by higher R&D costs. Consolidated R&D expenses through the third quarter totaled 16.9 billion won, up 29.5% from the same period a year earlier. The increased investment burden is believed to reflect ongoing clinical development, including that of CP-012, a treatment for morning akinesia in Parkinson’s disease.
Its overseas subsidiary Contera Pharma has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the investigational new drug (IND) application for a Phase 2 trial of CP-012 and is preparing to begin the trial. Phase 1 data for CP-012 were presented this month at MDS 2026, the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society meeting. Preclinical results for another candidate, CP-102, were also presented at the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS).
Contera Pharma has also completed the spin-off process in Denmark for a new company focused on developing RNA-based drugs. It plans to unveil the new company, its platform and key pipeline at an R&D event called “R&D Day” on November 24.
The company is also pursuing an expansion of its business portfolio. Bukwang Pharmaceutical plans to change the name of Korea Union Pharmaceutical to “Bukwang Unipharma” and expand its range of antibiotic and injectable products.
In the fourth quarter, it plans to expand prescriptions in the cardiovascular and respiratory fields and bring new products into general hospitals. It also plans to strengthen collaboration between its CNS division and out-of-hospital sales division and expand prescriptions at hospitals and clinics through marketing of Latuda.
A Bukwang Pharmaceutical representative said, “By pursuing growth in our key strategic products alongside investment in research and development, we will strengthen the competitiveness of our existing businesses and lay the foundation for medium- to long-term growth through new drug development.”

[email protected] Sang-hui Jeong Reporter