In early January, LG Chem, which signed a technology export (L/O) contract with Rhythm Pharmaceuticals of the United States for 'LB54640', a new drug candidate for rare obesity, achieved sales of approximately $207 million in the first quarter of this year in its life sciences business division. This represents a 2.48% increase compared to sales in the same quarter of the previous year ($202 million).

LG Chem announced during its first quarter earnings conference call on April 30th that it had achieved consolidated sales of $8.4 billion and operating profit of $192 million for the year 2024. This represents a decrease of 18.7% in sales and 67.1% in operating profit compared to the same period last year.

An LG Chem official stated, "In the first quarter, sales in the life sciences business division were $207 million, with operating profit at $2.4 million. Stable sales of key products such as diabetes and growth hormones led to a slight increase in sales compared to the same period last year." They added, "However, research and development (R&D) costs increased due to the performance of global clinical trials."

Dong-Seok Cha, CFO and President of LG Chem, attributed the improved performance compared to the previous quarter to crisis management capabilities. He highlighted upcoming revenue recognition from the rare obesity treatment and outlined plans for strategic partnerships in metabolic diseases and accelerated global clinical development in anticancer drugs.

The technology export contract with Rhythm Pharmaceuticals entails a total value of $350 million, with an upfront payment of $100 million and potential milestones of up to $250 million based on development and commercialization stages. The company anticipates recognizing $60 million of the upfront payment as revenue in the second quarter, with the remaining $40 million expected next year. Royalties from sales will be received separately.

LG Chem aims to bolster its pipeline through a combination of in-house development and the introduction of candidate substances, maintaining flexibility in partnerships to enhance the success probability of new drugs.