[Good Job SME](17) Winning Prospects in the Allergy Market: "Contributing to Human Health with Innovative Technology"

Created Diagnostic Kits for Pets
Changed Company Name to 'Protea' for Next-Level Leap

Editor's NoteSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the national economy. Numerically, 99% of companies in South Korea are SMEs. SMEs are the workplaces of the people. 81% of workers are employed by SMEs. When SMEs falter, our economy shakes and the jobs of the people are threatened. However, negative perceptions of SMEs persist. Low treatment and unguaranteed 'work-life balance,' and uncertain future growth prospects. Despite the employment difficulties, young people do not choose SMEs. Here are people who fight these prejudices and create good jobs and SMEs. They develop technologies that can compete with large corporations. They also devote efforts to building sound financial structures and corporate cultures to provide stable living foundations for employees. On the ground, there is the struggle of SME owners to fulfill corporate social responsibility while nurturing companies where employees can take pride. Asia Economy visited the field and directly heard their voices.

Allergies manifest in various symptoms such as rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and anaphylaxis. It is the body's hypersensitive reaction to certain substances. Previously, about 30 to 40 types of allergens were tested by stimulating the skin with a syringe to observe reactions. However, patients had to stop allergy medications before the test, and itching occurred after the test, causing discomfort. ProteomeTech is the company that solved this by enabling blood tests that can simultaneously test about 120 types of allergens at once.

Lim Guk-jin, CEO of ProteomeTech, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the headquarters in Gayang-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

ProteomeTech was established in 2000 to discover special proteins appearing in intractable diseases and develop products that use target proteins for disease treatment and diagnosis. Meeting with CEO Lim Guk-jin at the headquarters in Gayang-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, he stated, “I want to take a more proactive role in developing products that bring happiness to customers.”

The area they are most confident in is “new technology for in vitro diagnostic medical devices that customers need.” A representative example is the multiplex allergy diagnostic kit ‘Protia AllergyQ.’ ProteomeTech developed a technology that allows allergens to be coated in 2-row or 3-row parallel panels on a single panel and has patented this in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Allergy patients have specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) against causative substances, and measuring this IgE allows allergy diagnosis.

CEO Lim explained, “Products that test specific IgE for multiple substances were manufactured in Germany, but they could only test 20 types at once, and testing more substances required another model, which was costly. Our product can perform the functions of three different companies at one price, making it more efficient and economical.” ProteomeTech’s Protia AllergyQ is categorized into 50-line, 64-line, 96-line, and 128-line versions. The 128-line can test 118 types of allergens. They plan to release a 192-line product next year.

He also expressed confidence in the market. CEO Lim said, “In the bio sector, global giants dominate hospitals, but they have left the allergy field open, which was occupied by Swedish or German companies. We believed we had a chance and have already succeeded with ideas that beat Germany.” ProteomeTech’s allergy diagnostic products have surpassed imported products to hold over 40% market share domestically. They export products to 55 countries worldwide, with overseas sales steadily increasing. Export sales were 727 million KRW in 2020, 1.154 billion KRW in 2021, and 3.231 billion KRW last year.

Lim Guk-jin, CEO of ProteomeTech, is explaining the allergy blood test process at the headquarters in Gayang-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

They also have products for pets suffering from allergies, such as dogs and cats. CEO Lim emphasized, “Until now, allergy diagnostic tests for dogs required sending samples abroad, taking four weeks, but with our product, it takes just one day. Besides skin irritation tests, ours is the only product approved for use domestically.”

In addition, ProteomeTech sells antibiotic susceptibility test products, pregnancy test kits, and immune status test kits. Through these, they have won the Jang Young-sil Award twice, new technology certification four times, and the World-Class Product Award twice.

ProteomeTech, which moved from KONEX to KOSDAQ last June, is taking a step forward. From November 3, it will change its name to ‘Protia.’ The name adds ‘ia,’ meaning ‘domain,’ to ProteomeTech, signifying the expansion of its product domain globally.

ProteomeTech’s management philosophy is “Making myself, the company, and society happy.” To this end, they nurture three dreams with employees: “a company that contributes to the world,” “a strong and profitable company,” and “a company where employees share achievements and enjoy happy work lives.” After one year of employment, stock options are granted, and additional stock options are given to employees who contribute to company growth. They encourage degree-completion programs to help employees improve their skills. CEO Lim said, “It is important to communicate with employees and share the company’s vision. We will grow into a trusted company that contributes to human health with innovative technologies and new products that satisfy customer demands in a changing environment.”

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