'Integrated Celltrion' Launched... '2nd Generation' Seo Jin-seok Takes Lead as Chief Operating Officer

Celltrion and Healthcare Merge... Pharmaceutical Merger Scheduled for Next Year
Led by Trio: Kiwoosung, Kim Hyungki, and Seo Jinseok
'12 Trillion KRW Sales by 2030'... "Expanding Shareholder Returns"

Celltrion has completed its merger with Celltrion Healthcare and has newly launched as the integrated Celltrion. Alongside Ki Woo-sung, CEO of Celltrion, and Kim Hyung-gi, CEO of Celltrion Healthcare, Seo Jin-seok, chairman of the Celltrion board of directors and eldest son of Seo Jung-jin, chairman of the Celltrion Group, will serve as co-CEOs in a 'triple leadership system' to run the company.

On the 28th, Celltrion held a board meeting and approved the merger between the two companies. Celltrion Pharm, which was excluded from this merger among the three listed companies within the group, is expected to pursue another merger within next year.

With Celltrion Healthcare being absorbed and integrated into Celltrion, the management system of Celltrion, which was previously solely led by Vice Chairman Ki Woo-sung, has been changed to a three-person co-CEO system consisting of Ki Woo-sung as Vice Chairman overseeing the Manufacturing and Development Division, Kim Hyung-gi as Vice Chairman overseeing the Global Sales Division, and Seo Jin-seok as Chairman overseeing the Management Division. Chairman Seo Jin-seok stepped into the front line of Celltrion Group’s management after being appointed as the board chairman in March 2021, following Seo Jung-jin’s retirement announcement, marking about two years and nine months since then.

Through this merger, Celltrion plans to unify its business structure from development to sales to strengthen competitiveness and rapidly expand its product portfolio to achieve the goal of "12 trillion KRW in annual sales by 2030." In particular, as the cost of sales ratio is expected to gradually decrease from the current level of about 70% to approximately 40%, the company plans to leverage this to expand entry into key markets and improve sales and market share.

By integrating the previously dispersed assets through this merger, Celltrion will secure large-scale resources and actively invest in new growth engines such as new drug and biosimilar pipeline development, technology licensing, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and digital healthcare.

Starting with the autoimmune disease treatment new drug "Zimpentra," Celltrion aims to fill 40% of its future sales with new drugs through a promising portfolio including antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), bispecific antibodies, and microbiomes. Previously, Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion Group, stated that the 12 trillion KRW annual sales target for 2030 would be composed of "5 trillion KRW from new drugs and 7 trillion KRW from biosimilars."

The company will also continue to implement shareholder-friendly policies such as increasing cash dividends to about 30% of profits. This year, Celltrion Group decided on a total of 1.25 trillion KRW worth of treasury stock purchases and cash dividends totaling 103.7 billion KRW at 500 KRW per common share. It also plans to proceed with treasury stock cancellation worth approximately 436 billion KRW (2.31 million shares) next month, demonstrating its commitment to continuously return profits to shareholders and investors.

A Celltrion official said, “The smooth completion of the merger process following the resolution of the merger between Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare in August is proof that the future value and competitiveness of the integrated Celltrion have been fully recognized in the market,” adding, “Celltrion will continue to do its best to expand its influence in the global market based on differentiated competitiveness and know-how and to leap forward as a big pharma standing shoulder to shoulder with multinational pharmaceutical companies.”

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