[Edaily Reporter Kim Seung-kwon ] Among domestic pharmaceutical companies, those that consistently prove their worth through solid financial results (numbers) are drawing attention. In the past, pharmaceutical companies were stuck in a low-margin structure centered on imported drugs (product sales)—sourced from overseas—and domestic generic drugs. Market evaluations relied solely on expectations regarding the potential success of their new drug pipelines.

However, the landscape has recently shifted. As new drugs developed in-house have successfully commercialized on the global stage, these companies have transformed their business models into high-profit structures based on global royalties and technology exports. E-Daily’s pharmaceutical and biotech premium content platform, Pharm E-Daily, took a closer look at domestic pharmaceutical companies that have continued their upward trend in earnings and, as expected, posted strong results again this year.

Which Traditional Pharmaceutical Companies Are Seeing Improved Performance?

Pharmaceutical companies that recently announced their preliminary first-quarter results this year have clearly demonstrated the power of their proprietary new drugs. At the forefront are Yuhan, HK inno.N Corporation, and Onconic Therapeutics Inc.—a subsidiary of JEIL PHARM, which is regarded as a leading small-to-medium-sized new drug developer.

Yuhan Corporation recorded revenue of 526.8 billion won and operating profit of 8.8 billion won in the first quarter of this year. Operating profit increased by approximately 37% compared to the same period last year. The new anticancer drug Lecraza is cited as the key driver of this improvement in performance. In 2024, the combination therapy of Lecraza and Janssen’s Libravant received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), marking the full-scale launch of sales in the U.S. Consequently, royalty revenue alone in the first quarter of this year reached approximately 5 billion won, a 24% increase year-over-year. Analysts note that the company has successfully transitioned to a business model that reduces reliance on licensed products and generates revenue from new drug royalties.

HK inno.N Corporation also continued its strong performance through global expansion. Operating profit for the first quarter of this year reached 33.2 billion won, an increase of approximately 31% year-over-year. This is considered the second-highest quarterly performance in the company’s history. Domestic sales of its flagship new drug, K-Cap—a treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease—declined slightly due to drug price rebates. However, export sales rose by 11.5% to 4.4 billion won. Combined with balanced growth in the intravenous solutions and cardiovascular divisions, the company achieved an operating profit margin exceeding 10%—a rare feat among major pharmaceutical companies.

GC Biopharma Corp. also recorded first-quarter revenue of 435.5 billion won and operating profit of 11.7 billion won, and is expected to be the only pharmaceutical company—after Yuhan—to join the 2 trillion won annual revenue club. Analysts attribute this largely to its newly developed blood product, Aliglo, which has gained a foothold in the U.S. market and generated 34.9 billion won in revenue in the first quarter alone.

Onconic Therapeutics Inc.’s turnaround, led by its new drug Jacubo, is also noteworthy. Jacubo, a new drug in the potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) class, has recorded explosive growth since its domestic launch in October 2024. Onconic Therapeutics Inc. successfully returned to profitability in 2025, posting sales of 533억 won and an operating profit of 126억 won. In the first quarter of this year, sales of Jacubo (based on co-marketing with Donga ST) reached 188억 won, soaring by a staggering 192.2% compared to the same period last year. With the recent success of its Phase 3 clinical trial in India and the expansion of clinical trials by its Chinese partner—which has added milestone revenue—the company is now firmly on track to surpass 1000억 won in annual revenue.

An industry insider stated, “Amid the recent trend of overall drug price cuts and rising raw material costs, which have increased manufacturing cost burdens, only companies with competitive and resilient proprietary prescription drugs are managing to maintain profits,” adding, “Going forward, performance differentiation among pharmaceutical companies will hinge on the success of new drug pipelines capable of succeeding in global markets beyond the domestic market, as well as their ability to expand overseas operations.”

Corporate Value Reassessed: From R&D Expectations to ‘Royalties and Direct Sales’ Figures

The pharmaceutical industry is currently facing a serious crisis of deteriorating profitability. This is because the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s reform of the drug pricing system has reduced generic drug prices from the previous 53.55% to 45%, and they can drop as low as 28.8% if certain criteria are not met. In this context, the common thread among companies that have shown a three-year upward trend in performance is clear: they have broken through profitability barriers through the “commercialization of in-house developed drugs.”

In the past, the earnings structure of traditional pharmaceutical companies relied primarily on △ imported drugs and △ generics that followed off-patent originals. Under this structure, it was difficult to improve margins even as sales increased. This is because drug prices are tied to the national health insurance system, and it becomes difficult to maintain prices when generic competition intensifies.

A common trait among traditional pharmaceutical companies whose performance has recently improved is that they are transforming this structure “from the top down.” Yuhan(000100)has established a model where it receives milestone payments and sales-linked royalties through the global approval and sale of Lecraza. Regardless of whether sales occur domestically or overseas, this structure naturally generates high-margin revenue as Lecraza sales increase.

HK inno.N Corporation(195940) JEIL PHARM(271980) is also expanding its diversified revenue streams centered on K-Cap, encompassing domestic and international prescriptions, exports and licensing, and co-promotion. The company is moving toward expanding its domestic blockbuster into a global ETC (Ethical Drug) new drug. #Onconic Therapeutics Inc., a subsidiary of , is creating a structure through Zakuvo that allows it to expect milestone and future royalty revenues from Shinhung markets such as India and China, in addition to domestic sales.

Consequently, analysts note that the revenue model is shifting from “domestic generics and imported drugs” to “domestically developed new drugs + global partnerships.” In the past, even when traditional pharmaceutical companies exceeded 1 trillion won in sales, their operating profit margins often hovered around 5%. Now, companies with a structure centered on new drugs and royalties are achieving margins of over 10%, while smaller firms are pushing their margins up to around 20%. This clearly demonstrates the “improvement in business fundamentals” in numerical terms.

An industry insider noted, “Amid the trend of generic drug price cuts, the only companies capable of defending their costs are those with their own global new drugs,” adding, “Market evaluation must shift away from vague expectations based on pipelines toward a ‘performance-based’ approach that focuses on cash flow and actual royalty revenue.”