Pharmaceutical and Bio Industries Aim for the '3 Trillion Won Sales Club'

Significant Growth Due to Omicron Spread
SD Biosensor, Seegene, and Others
Diagnostic Device Companies Achieve Record Sales
Samsung Biologics Also Soars 96%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies showed remarkable growth in the first quarter. As the Omicron variant virus became widespread, sales of in vitro diagnostic device companies surged significantly, while traditional pharmaceutical companies and bio firms also performed well. Attention is focused on whether a pharmaceutical or bio company will record “annual sales of 3 trillion won” this year.

Diagnostic Device Companies Soared

According to the industry on the 18th, the spread of Omicron greatly increased demand not only for COVID-19 self-test kits but also for professional rapid antigen kits, highlighting the sales growth of in vitro diagnostic device companies.

Industry leader SD Biosensor’s first-quarter sales reached 1.3888 trillion won, up 17.8% from the same period last year, marking the highest quarterly performance ever. Growth was driven by overseas expansion achievements, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization for COVID-19 self-test kits at the end of last year and large orders from Canada and Japan earlier this year, as well as domestic sales. SD Biosensor recorded sales of 2.9314 trillion won last year. An SD Biosensor official said, “In the second quarter, we will target the global diagnostic market with a diversified business portfolio in preparation for the post-COVID era, including the launch of a new cartridge for the rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic device ‘Standard M10.’”

Seegene also achieved a record first-quarter sales of 451.4 billion won, a 28.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Humasis posted sales of 326.4 billion won, a 1510% increase year-on-year, surpassing its full-year performance from the previous year with just the first quarter results.

Such strong first-quarter performances of diagnostic device companies are largely attributed to the large-scale Omicron outbreak earlier this year, so a certain decline is expected in the second quarter. However, since countries like Taiwan still face severe COVID-19 outbreaks and there is analysis suggesting a new variant may emerge in the second half of the year, the industry views it as difficult to make premature predictions.

Pharmaceutical and Bio Companies Sailing Smoothly

Excluding diagnostic device companies, Samsung Biologics is considered the closest to achieving “3 trillion won in sales.” Samsung Biologics’ first-quarter sales soared 96.0% year-on-year to 511.3 billion won. Further sales growth is expected. Samsung Biologics officially incorporated Samsung Bioepis as a subsidiary and is constructing its fourth plant (256,000 liters), the world’s largest biopharmaceutical factory, aiming for partial operation in October. A Samsung Biologics official explained, “We have already signed contracts for five products with three global big pharma companies and are in discussions with 20 additional pharmaceutical companies for the production of 30 products.”

Celltrion recorded first-quarter sales of 550.6 billion won, a 20.5% increase year-on-year, supported by stable market share of major biosimilar products and supply of COVID-19 diagnostic kits. In particular, sales of Remsima and Truxima increased in the U.S. market. Remsima’s first-quarter market share rose by 4.9 percentage points to 27.5%, and Truxima also held a 27.2% share.

GC Green Cross, the second-largest pharmaceutical company in sales last year, posted 416.9 billion won in sales in the first quarter, up 47.7% from the same period last year. All business sectors, including blood products, prescription drugs, and vaccines, showed steady growth, driving strong performance. Yuhan Corporation recorded 397.7 billion won in sales, up 12.3%, and Chong Kun Dang posted 338 billion won, up 8.8% in the first quarter. Hanmi Pharmaceutical recorded sales of 321.1 billion won, supported by growth in its own new drugs such as the Amozaltan family and Rosuzet, as well as strong performance from its Chinese subsidiary Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical. Daewoong Pharmaceutical also posted 272.2 billion won in sales, influenced by growth in prescription drug sales.

An industry official said, “Despite the unexpected variable of Omicron hitting the first quarter hard, the results reflect strong performance in overseas markets,” adding, “It is time to continuously discover new growth momentum based on global competitiveness.”

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