Sanghyo Kim, CEO of Philmedi, "A Day Will Come When Diagnosis Is Possible Without Medical Staff or Electricity"

Sticker Released Detecting Drugs from GHB to Philopon and Cocaine
Hormone Analysis Enables Tracking of Menstrual Dates for Fertile Women
"Received R&D Funding for Self-Diagnosis Platform from WHO"

Filmedi CEO Kim Sang-hyo is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 16th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] “Our goal is to create self-diagnostic kits that can be used in underdeveloped areas around the world, even in places without electricity and in hot climates.” This is the statement from Kim Sang-hyo (55), CEO of Philmedi, a self-diagnostic platform company.

Philmedi, a startup now in its fourth year, dreams of a world where ordinary people can make accurate diagnoses without the help of experts or specialized equipment. It all started in 2020 when they introduced a sticker that detects the so-called ‘mulppong (GHB),’ a drug used in sexual crimes. The sticker, smaller than a coin, changes color within 60 seconds when a liquid is applied, indicating the presence of the substance. “Although we are a small company, we achieved first place in the Amazon drug testing category within 2 to 3 weeks in the U.S., where party culture is highly developed. In Korea, many parents who have sent their children to study abroad purchase it,” said CEO Kim. He explained, “After the ‘Burning Sun incident’ in Korea, awareness of drugs used in sexual crimes increased, so we developed this product to allow people to test easily without being noticed by others.” In June, Philmedi released a sticker that detects methamphetamine, and soon they plan to launch one that detects cocaine as well.

Sticker for detecting Philopon

Next month, a self-diagnostic kit that accurately informs fertile women of their menstruation dates will be released. By conducting urine tests once a day for 4 to 5 days, analysis of LH hormone and hCG will allow users to check the start date of their period through an app. CEO Kim said, “There are quite a few women in our country with irregular menstruation. This inevitably causes inconvenience in daily life,” adding, “These people can conveniently purchase and use the kit at convenience stores or pharmacies.”

Menstrual date kit for women of childbearing age scheduled for release next month.

As early as next year, it will be possible to self-diagnose levels of depression and stress at home. Philmedi is developing a kit that detects melatonin and cortisol in saliva and analyzes the indices. “Analysis through saliva is already done in hospitals, but the problem is that it cannot be done at home,” said CEO Kim. He added, “In Korea, there is still a widespread reluctance toward psychiatric treatment,” and predicted, “Although symptoms worsen, it often takes a long time to receive the first consultation in the mental health field, but with self-diagnosis, proactive responses will be possible.”

Although Philmedi’s sales are still low, the sales target for next year is set between 5 billion and 10 billion KRW. CEO Kim said, “A recent major achievement is that the World Health Organization (WHO) supported our research and development expenses to help our self-diagnostic platform reach the market quickly,” and added, “This target is based on the assumption that product supply to WHO will proceed smoothly.” Kits that can easily diagnose various diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis anywhere by simply changing the reagent on the same platform are expected to be released next year. He emphasized, “WHO’s annual budget for diagnostic kits is 1.3 trillion KRW, and the basic principle is to purchase in large quantities at low cost,” adding, “Philmedi’s goals align well with WHO’s mission to solve global medical inequality.”

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