Overseas Business Trip by Salesperson Seo Jeong-jin... "Will Create Merger Synergy"

Japan, Singapore, USA, Canada
Inspecting Local Sales Networks & Investor Meetings
"Will Achieve Performance Targets After Merger"

Seo Jung-jin, Chairman of the Celltrion Group, will embark on an overseas business trip starting in Japan on the 27th, followed by Singapore, the United States (New York and Boston), and Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Quebec) next month. Through activities such as inspecting sales networks and meeting investors across these locations, he is determined to achieve the performance targets set after the merger.

Seo Jung-jin, Chairman of Celltrion Group, is speaking at a meeting held on the afternoon of the 24th. [Image source=Celltrion YouTube]

At an online briefing on the 24th, Chairman Seo said, "The best person to persuasively and strongly explain (our products) is me," adding, "I am the best salesperson of our company. Would I have spoken publicly if there were risks? I believe you can trust me."

Among the destinations, Canada stands out. Chairman Seo stated, "Canada is a market that can reach 500 billion KRW within three years and 1 trillion KRW within five years," and added, "There are about 1,800 doctors in Canada who prescribe our drugs. Together with Kim Hyung-ki, Vice Chairman of Celltrion Healthcare, and the head of the Canadian branch, we will each meet 20 people a day to directly meet all doctors, pharmacists, and patient representatives who prescribe our drugs within a month."

Chairman Seo expressed confidence in achieving synergy with next year's sales target of 3.5 trillion KRW and EBITDA of 1.6 trillion KRW. The roadmap for synergy is the merger. By merging Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare within this year, and Celltrion Pharm next year, the integrated Celltrion will be launched.

Celltrion's Remsima SC model
Photo by Lee Chunhee

The current issue in the United States is ‘Zimpentra,’ which is undergoing new drug approval procedures. It is known as ‘Remsima SC,’ a biosimilar ‘Remsima’ changed from intravenous (IV) to subcutaneous (SC) injection form. The company expects sales of 600 billion KRW in the U.S. and 230 billion KRW in Europe next year after U.S. approval in October, aiming for 3 trillion KRW in sales by 2030, which would be one-quarter of Celltrion’s total expected sales.

Chairman Seo said that the Humira (adalimumab) biosimilar ‘Yuflyma,’ which was introduced to the U.S. market last month, is expected to generate about 280 billion KRW in global sales next year. He added, "I think a market share of about 20% in North America is reasonable, so sales of about 230 billion KRW are expected."

Yuflyma recently secured access to 14% of the market by being listed on the prescription drug formulary of OptumRx, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) critical to the U.S. market, including public insurance (Medicare). Chairman Seo emphasized, "At the end of this month, another 5% combining public and private insurance will be disclosed, and we are negotiating with payors covering about 10% of public insurance. If we negotiate with about five other insurers, we will reach a 40% target. Even if we capture only half of that, we will maintain about a 20% market share."

Regarding new drug development, which is targeted to contribute 40% of sales by 2030, he also expressed a commitment to developing obesity and diabetes treatments. Chairman Seo said, "Celltrion Pharm is leading the development of peptide therapeutics." This is interpreted as a plan to launch peptide-based drugs similar to Novo Nordisk’s ‘Wegovy (semaglutide)’ and Eli Lilly’s ‘Mounjaro (tirzepatide),’ which currently dominate the market.

Meanwhile, at the briefing, Chairman Seo firmly drew the line on various stock price support measures demanded by shareholders. Regarding this, he proposed an alternative, saying, "Celltrion Holdings is also considering going public if necessary. If funds are raised here, we will increase our stake." On the possibility of exceeding the current 1 trillion KRW scale set for the merger opposition buyout claim, he urged, "If claims exceed 1 trillion KRW, it means that all shareholders do not want the merger. It could become a hurdle for the merger, so I ask shareholders to make wise judgments."

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