Singapore, June 15, 2010: The third edition of BioSpectrum Asia Pacific Survey 2010 is an effort to give a rounded view of the progress the life sciences industry has made. Dong-A has made a firm commitment to biopharmaceutical research as the market for biopharmaceuticals is growing rapidly.

Rank: 17
Company: Dong-A Pharmaceutical
Revenue: $640.85 mn
CEO: Mr Won-Bae Kim
Business: Manufacturer of pharmaceutical products
Website: www.donga.co.kr
Startup Year: 1932
Country: South Korea

Korea-based Dong-A Pharmaceutical is engaged in the production of prescription medicines, over the counter (OTC) drugs, biological products, consumer products, energy drinks and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

In the year 2009, the revenue figure of Dong-A stood at $640.85 million as against $559.75 million in 2008.

Its product portfolio of prescription medicines and OTC drugs consists of acne treatments, emollients, preparations for hair, antibiotics, digestives, anti-inflammatory enzymes, acopics, treatments of analgesia, blood circulation activators, dietary functional foods, vitamins and others. Dong-A’s API drugs include anti-hypertensives, anti-tuberculosis drugs, anti-cancer drugs, anti-asthmatics, anti-diabetics, analgesics and others. It has four domestic factories, and exports products to South East Asia and South America.

The company gives emphasis to R&D and its research center is responsible for the development of Stillen, a gastritis treatment, and Zydena for erectile dysfunction. Both products have done impressive business in the domestic market and are recording strong overseas sales.

Dong-A has also made a firm commitment to biopharmaceutical research as the market for biopharmaceuticals is growing rapidly and is attracting many multinationals. The company made investments in biopharmaceutical research infrastructure, securing an initial advantage and a  pipeline that comprises bio-medical products.

In order to tap the opportunity and to raise the efficiency of its R&D operations, Dong-A reorganized its research headquarters and formalized plans to construct a new research center. It continues to focus on expanding the application of existing patents to new markets, and moves forward with research into atopy and asthma treatments.  Dong-A has established a multi-layer overseas business platform to carry out R&D, investment and marketing functions. The goal of the company is to achieve 40 percent of its revenue from foreign sales by 2017, making it a genuinely global enterprise.

Dong-A Pharmaceutical is exporting Leucostim, a treatment for neutropenia with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as an active ingredient, to Turkey. The company managed itself well  to tackle the challenges posed by the global meltdown in 2009.

Milestones 2009

• Started exporting Leucostim, a biologic, to Turkey.
• Signed license agreement to exclusively develop and market Asahi Kasei’s FLIVAS, a prostatism treatment, in Korea.

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