[Asia Exclusive] "Studying by Day and Night, Even Lawsuits... It Was a Dynamic 3 Years with an Expanding Scope of Work"

Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical
Reelected, Accelerates 'Global 2025 Vision'

"There were crises marked by intense disputes, but time passed quickly as we achieved results such as establishing and advancing new research and development (R&D) strategies. Beyond the existing areas that formed the foundation for growth like public relations, IR, and legal affairs, I learned a great deal by experiencing various fields in an all-around manner."

Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, responded this way when asked about his reflections during his term, describing it as "an extremely dynamic three years." He said that when he suddenly took the CEO position at a young age in 2018, 18 years after joining Daewoong Pharmaceutical, he had many concerns about whether he could do well. He smiled and said, "Over the past three years, as the workload increased, my scope of work broadened, providing opportunities to learn."

As Jeon mentioned, the past three years were a period where crisis and opportunity coexisted for Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Above all, the dispute with Medytox over botulinum toxin products escalated to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in 2019, which kept CEO Jeon busy. He personally studied the U.S. judicial system and communicated directly with local law firm attorneys regarding the ITC lawsuit.

On the other hand, for the new drug R&D and global business that will lead Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s future, he diligently read academic papers himself, studying day and night. In his first year as CEO, Daewoong Pharmaceutical achieved consolidated sales of 1 trillion won for the first time in its history, and since then, it has been sailing smoothly by entering the 1 trillion won club for three consecutive years until last year. Leveraging his expertise in global business, he also accomplished the global launch of the botulinum toxin product ‘Nabota’ and the technology export of the new drug for gastroesophageal reflux disease, ‘Pexuprazan.’

Open innovation is also actively underway. Through technological convergence with experts worldwide, spin-offs, and joint startups with researchers from Daewoong, various specialized research startups have been established, dedicating efforts to developing new drugs with high unmet needs. A representative example is the joint venture ‘Apicell Therapeutics’ established in January last year with the UK biotech company Abacta.

Having succeeded in his reappointment earlier this year, CEO Jeon plans to accelerate the achievement of the ‘Global 2025 Vision.’ The Global 2025 Vision means entering the top 10 in countries where the company operates and establishing an export network in 100 countries by 2025. CEO Jeon emphasized, "Our goal is to build our own competitiveness so that the best partners come to us, promote mutual growth, and become the global best together. We will strengthen new drug R&D capabilities through diverse open innovation and transform into a global healthcare company through innovative management."

◆Career

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University

Master of Business Administration, AALTO University Graduate School of Business

Joined Daewoong Pharmaceutical in 2000

Head of Global Business Division, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, 2014?2017

CEO, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, 2018

Advisory Committee Member, KAIST Graduate School of Convergent Science and Technology, 2019

New Business Subcommittee Member, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Strategic Planning and Investment Council, 2019

Director, Korean Pharmaceutical Association, 2021

Advisor, Future Medicine Research Foundation, 2021

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.