(Seoul=News1) Reporter Moon Da-hyun: Onconic Therapeutics (476060) has experienced significant increases in both revenue and profit through the commercialization of its independently developed new drug. Despite conducting its research and development (R&D) expenditures normally, the company achieved a profitable structure, demonstrating a virtuous cycle of profit generation based on new drugs and subsequent R&D, according to evaluations.
On February 2, Onconic Therapeutics announced that last year’s sales and earnings structure had changed by more than 30%, resulting in an annual sales record of 53.4 billion KRW and an operating profit of 12.6 billion KRW.
In 2025, Onconic Therapeutics recorded sales of approximately 53.4 billion KRW, a 259.8% surge compared to the previous year. The company flipped from an operating loss of 4.79 billion KRW in the previous year to an operating profit of approximately 12.6 billion KRW. Its net profit also turned positive, reaching 13.7 billion KRW.
The results reflect the sales growth of ‘Zaqibo,’ a treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) classified as Korea’s 37th new drug, and revenue from a technology transfer milestone received from its Chinese partner ‘Livzon,’ following the success of its phase 3 clinical trial in China and the subsequent filing for approval.
Launched in October 2024, Zaqibo has rapidly grown in the prescription market. According to UBIST’s external prescription data, the monthly prescription amount of Zaqibo expanded from approximately 500 million KRW in its first month of launch in October 2024 to about 6.6 billion KRW in December 2025. This marks approximately 13-fold growth in just over a year, establishing itself as a key product in the GERD treatment market.
Onconic Therapeutics places significance on the business model of reinvesting profits secured through the commercialization of its independently approved new drug, Zaqibo, back into R&D for subsequent new drugs.
A company representative emphasized, “The ‘Gilead-style virtuous cycle structure for new drug R&D’ that we have been emphasizing, which involves connecting substantial profits generated from new drug approvals to subsequent R&D funding, is being realized.”
Based on this virtuous cycle structure, the company is actively advancing the development of its next-generation anticancer drug pipeline. It has entered clinical phase 2 for its next-generation synthetic lethality dual-target anticancer drug ‘Nesuparib’ for four indications: pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and gastric cancer, thus accelerating its clinical development in anticancer drugs.
Nesuparib holds potential as a pan-tumor treatment new drug, showing effectiveness across various indications rather than being restricted to specific cancer types.
A representative from Onconic Therapeutics stated, “Building on the late clinical, CMC, and approval experiences of the new drug Zaqibo, which recorded sales of approximately 50 billion KRW in its launch year, we have achieved a meaningful outcome by advancing our second new drug, Nesuparib, to clinical phase 2 for four indications.” The representative added, “This year, we plan to maximize the value of Nesuparib by actively sharing its outcomes at major domestic and international conferences.”