ST Pharm second-quarter net income jumps 145 percent on commercial sales

ST Pharm said Monday its second-quarter net income jumped 145 percent from a year earlier, driven by the full recognition of sales from commercialized items in its oligonucleotide and small-molecule new drug divisions.

The company posted net profit of 13.2 billion won ($9.2 million) for the three months ended June 30. Revenue rose 58.9 percent to 108.5 billion won ($75.9 million), while operating profit climbed 41.7 percent to 18.3 billion won ($12.8 million).

Growth was led by the oligonucleotide business, where sales surged 83 percent on-year to 79.6 billion won ($55.7 million). Commercial projects accounted for 49.7 billion won ($34.8 million) of that total, representing 62 percent of the division's revenue.

The small-molecule new drug segment also saw sharp expansion, with sales more than doubling to 17.5 billion won ($12.2 million) as two commercialization projects fueled the increase. Operations at the company's second oligonucleotide plant generated revenue from 13 new projects.

By the end of June, ST Pharm's oligonucleotide order backlog stood at approximately $230 million, with commercial projects making up about 80 percent of the total. The company expects gross profit margins to improve in the second half of the year as the large-scale line at the new facility reaches full operation alongside rising commercial sales.

Separately, the biopharmaceutical firm announced it has received top-line results from the Phase 2a clinical trial of STP-0404, a candidate treatment for HIV, and plans to present the data at an academic conference in October.