Dong-A ST said on Oct. 31 that it participated in CPHI Worldwide 2025, the world’s largest pharmaceutical trade show held in Frankfurt, Germany, from Oct. 28–30, showcasing its R&D capabilities and expanding global partnerships.
The company has attended CPHI annually since 2011 and has shared a booth with partner company ST Pharm since 2013. This year the joint booth continued to focus on lead generation and business networking while promoting Dong-A ST’s R&D and manufacturing strengths.
At the exhibition the company presented its proprietary and reformulated drugs, including the diabetes treatment Sugarnon (active ingredient: evogliptin) and growth hormone Grotropin, alongside its remote electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring platform, HiCardi.
During the show Dong-A ST held business meetings with representatives from more than 150 pharmaceutical and biotech firms across roughly 70 countries to discuss collaboration opportunities including active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) exports, local manufacturing, technology transfers, and overseas distribution of in-licensed products.
The company also announced on-site deals. On Oct. 28 Dong-A ST signed a license-out agreement with Turkey-based top-tier pharmaceutical company Berko Pharma for DA-1229 (evogliptin). Under the agreement, Dong-A ST will receive an upfront payment and milestone royalties as development progresses and will export DA-1229 APIs to Berko Pharma, which will handle clinical development, regulatory approvals, local manufacturing and commercialization within the Turkey territory.
Evogliptin is described as a highly selective DPP‑4 inhibitor that provides strong glucose-lowering effects at low doses and has minimal impact on the metabolism of co-administered drugs, improving adherence for patients with multiple chronic medications. In South Korea it is marketed as Sugarnon.
Berko Pharma ranks around 12th among Turkish pharmaceutical companies by sales and operates EU‑GMP manufacturing facilities. The company has been expanding into diabetes, cardiovascular disease, anemia and infectious disease markets. The Turkish diabetes market was approximately $590 million in 2024, with DPP‑4 inhibitors accounting for about 25% of that market.
Separately, Dong-A ST signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Eastern European firm Novatin for commercialization of the HiCardi remote ECG monitoring platform. The partners plan to pursue deployment in four countries — the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia and Malta.
Novatin supplies specialty diabetes and cardiovascular medicines and is expanding into digital health and medical devices. The company expects demand for remote ECG monitoring to rise as Holter monitoring becomes eligible for reimbursement in parts of Eastern Europe (including the Czech Republic) from 2026.
HiCardi is a mobile biosignal monitoring system that uses a lightweight wearable patch and a smartphone to provide real-time, multi-patient monitoring of ECG, heart rate, skin temperature and respiration, designed to reduce the inconvenience associated with traditional ECG devices for patients and clinicians.
A Dong-A ST spokesperson said, “CPHI is a global business venue where pharmaceutical and biotech companies gather, and this exhibition affirmed the competitiveness of our R&D capabilities and digital healthcare solutions in the global market. We will continue to expand strategic partnerships to accelerate our global expansion.”
CPHI is held annually in major European cities and is the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotech trade fair, covering finished dosage forms, APIs, contract manufacturing (CMO) and contract research (CRO). The event typically hosts more than 2,800 exhibitors and draws over 58,000 visitors each year.
