Vuno Reports 5.5 Billion KRW in Q1 Sales, Up 212% Year-on-Year

Quarterly Sales Growth Since Last Year
'Essential Medical' VunoMed DeepCAS™ Continues to Grow
Full-Scale Performance in the US Market Expected Within the Year

Medical AI company VUNO announced on the 13th that its consolidated sales for the first quarter of this year reached 5.54 billion KRW. This represents an approximately 212% increase compared to 1.78 billion KRW in the same period last year. It also increased by about 12% from 4.9 billion KRW in the previous quarter. VUNO has seen sales growth every quarter since the first quarter of last year.

VUNO explained that the continuous growth of its flagship product, the AI-based cardiac arrest risk monitoring medical device VUNO Med-DeepCARS™, along with increased sales overseas including Japan, is driving the upward trend in performance.

Despite ongoing medical service gaps recently, VUNO Med-DeepCARS™ has established itself as an essential medical device, with the number of billing hospitals and beds increasing monthly. The number of billing hospitals rose from 60 last year to 85. Among them, 15 are tertiary general hospitals, and the total number of billing beds has surpassed 34,000. Cumulative sales are increasing as billing is done on a per-bed, per-day basis proportional to actual usage.

The non-reimbursable billing period for VUNO Med-DeepCARS™ is also expected to be extended. According to the recently announced “2nd Comprehensive Plan for National Health Insurance Implementation 2024” by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the usage period for new medical technologies under evaluation exemption will be extended from the existing 2 years to 4 years. Therefore, the non-reimbursable market entry period for VUNO Med-DeepCARS™, the first medical technology in the domestic medical AI industry, is expected to increase to about 5 years, including the evaluation exemption period and the new medical technology evaluation period (up to 250 days).

Meanwhile, overseas sales increased by about 155% compared to the previous quarter and about 190% compared to the same period last year. Sales of VUNO Med-Chest CT AI™, an AI-based chest CT reading assistance solution operating in Japan, have increased. VUNO’s partner M3 AI recently secured a top-tier local sales network through a memorandum of understanding (MOU), and with the Japanese authorities’ decision to expand health insurance coverage for AI medical devices starting June this year, continuous sales growth is expected in the second half of the year.

VUNO plans to accelerate its achievements in entering the U.S. market this year. It is preparing for the official launch of VUNO Med-DeepBrain®, an AI-based brain quantification medical device certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Including VUNO Med-DeepCARS™, the first FDA-designated innovative medical device in the domestic medical AI industry, VUNO also aims to obtain FDA approval for its AI-based chest X-ray reading assistance solution VUNO Med-Chest X-ray™ within this year.

Following last month’s approval for integrated review and evaluation of innovative medical devices, which opened the door to the non-reimbursable market, VUNO is strengthening domestic sales and marketing of VUNO Med-Fundus AI™, an AI-based fundus image reading assistance solution. It also plans to accelerate the B2C (business-to-consumer) performance of its chronic disease management brand HARTIVE, which is entering its second year since launch.

Kim Junhong, VUNO’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, “The first quarter sales this year reflect all the major management directions that will lead the company going forward,” adding, “This will serve as a foundation to increase the possibility of achieving quarterly profitability in 2024 and annual profitability in 2025, which were our original goals.” He continued, “As overseas investors’ interest in VUNO continues to grow, we are doing our best to actively share the company’s vision and key strategies to ensure this interest leads to actual investment.”

He explained, “The operating loss increased by about 10% compared to the previous quarter,” noting, “This is related to the investment in sales and marketing costs for full-scale overseas expansion.”

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