[Biz Leader] Kim Jung-joo, CEO of Labgenomics, "Completed Korea's First K-Diagnostics US Ecosystem... Quantum Jump Next Year"

US Clearlab Acquires 3 Companies... Targeting $70 Trillion Diagnostic Market
Building K-Diagnostic Platform... Recruiting Experts from LabCorp and Quest

Kim Jung-joo, CEO of Labgenomics.

"We have successfully completed the establishment of the 'K-Diagnostics ecosystem in the U.S.,' something no domestic diagnostic company has achieved, and next year we aim to achieve the highest sales ever with rapid revenue growth."

On the 17th, Kim Jung-joo, CEO of LabGenomics, expressed his aspirations for entering the U.S. market in an interview with Asia Economy after completing the acquisition of three U.S. CliaLabs. The company plans to diversify its U.S.-oriented sales sectors, including next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based cancer diagnostics and pathogenic molecular diagnostics, making this year the foundation for performance growth.

In particular, the three CliaLabs acquired this time have competitive strengths specialized in cancer diagnostics such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and NGS. They have direct contractual relationships with major U.S. hospitals, making it possible to rapidly expand market share within the U.S. market.

CEO Kim said, "The chief officers (C-level) of IMD in each field are industry experts with extensive experience and know-how regarding CliaLabs," adding, "We are very pleased to recruit excellent local talent and expect them to play a leading role in expanding the local diagnostic market and pioneering new markets together with LabGenomics, LabGenomics USA, and QDx."

Israel Villasenor, CEO of IMD, worked for over 25 years at top five U.S. CliaLabs such as Quest and Stanford Clinical Laboratory. With experience in business strategy, transition development management, and growth management, he is recognized as a CliaLab management expert. Louis Tzoumbas, founder and chief operating officer (COO), was part of the management team when UniLab and Stanford Clinical Laboratory were acquired by Quest and has extensive experience in multiple CliaLab mergers and acquisitions.

David Samimi, vice president of business development and operations, is an expert in organizational structure, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and infectious diseases. With over 30 years of experience at integrated delivery networks (IDNs) such as Kaiser Permanente, John Muir Clinical Laboratory, Stanford Clinical Laboratory, and Sutter Health, he is regarded as the ideal business developer targeting IDNs.

(From left) IMD IT Executive Bikash Panda, CEO Israel Villasenor, Labgenomics USA CEO Jo Jeonghee, IMD Chief Operating Officer (COO) Louis Tzoumbas, and IMD Lab Director Jess Savala. / Photo by Labgenomics

CEO Kim explained, "Each lab operated by IMD provides systematic pathogenic molecular diagnostics and cancer diagnostic services tailored to their characteristics to major U.S. hospitals," adding, "Samples are received at the Sacramento and Berkeley labs for primary testing through flow cytometry, while secondary testing such as cytogenetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is conducted at the Aurora lab." He continued, "We have completed the ecosystem for cancer diagnostics from flow cytometry to PCR and NGS," and said, "We will boast high competitiveness with highly accurate results and short turnaround times (TAT) for service delivery."

IDN is a system where hospitals, physician groups, insurers, and various healthcare providers are integrated into a single organization to provide consistent medical services to patients. Since it provides various services to large hospitals and cancer centers, it is said to have advantages in terms of future business expansion.

CEO Kim stated, "We expect steep external growth based on strong manpower and systematic cancer diagnostic processes," and added, "We will strive to expand market share in the $70 trillion U.S. CliaLab market based on geographical advantages and the establishment of cancer diagnostic processes." He also emphasized, "Using IMD and QDx, we will convert infectious disease PCR diagnostic products into laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) to provide K-Diagnostics services across the U.S. We will expand NGS-based cancer diagnostic services, which are emerging as high value-added, and lead the expansion of the U.S. diagnostic market by serving as a clinical test bed for K-Diagnostics in the U.S."

Meanwhile, according to market research firm Precedence Research, the U.S. NGS testing market, which accounts for about 30% of the global NGS market, reached approximately 3.7 trillion KRW last year. It is expected to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 15% going forward.