[Focus on K-Bio] i-SENS Leading with 'Continuous Glucose Monitor,' Accelerates Next-Generation New Business

Nam Hak-hyun, CEO of i-SENS

Continuous Glucose Monitor Planned for Release Next Year
Measures for 15 Days with One Attachment
Enhancing Convenience While Lowering Price

POCT Achieves Results Including Exports to Japan
Expanding Business in Digital Health
2-3 On-site Inspections Underway in Europe

Nam Hak-hyun, CEO of i-SENS / Photo by Lee Chun-hee

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] "We plan to enter the main clinical trial phase for the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) this December, aiming for a mid-to-late next year launch. Based on ease of use, we believe we have a definite competitive edge."

Nam Hak-hyun, CEO of i-SENS, expressed confidence in an interview with Asia Economy on the 27th while discussing the CGM currently under development. The CGM is i-SENS's next-generation flagship product, which should have been launched already according to the original plan, but was delayed due to clinical trial postponements caused by COVID-19.

i-SENS was founded in 2000 by Nam, then a chemistry professor at Kwangwoon University, together with fellow professor Cha Geun-sik. Since then, the company has maintained steady growth every year. Both sales and operating profits have continuously increased, and last year, sales exceeded 200 billion KRW for the first time.

CEO Nam attributes the secret of growth to 'principles.' Although many have entered the blood glucose monitoring business, he judged it to be a continuously growing market. He explained that consistently adhering to the principle of gaining trust from customers and employees through differentiated quality has been key. At the time of founding, the domestic blood glucose monitoring market was dominated by foreign companies such as Roche, Johnson & Johnson, and Bayer, but after more than 20 years, i-SENS now holds the number one market share in Korea.

i-SENS aims to further strengthen its market dominance with next-generation products. The core is undoubtedly the CGM. Current general self-monitoring blood glucose meters (BGM) require the cumbersome process of pricking a finger each time to collect blood for measurement. However, the CGM automatically measures blood glucose for about 15 days with a single attachment.

CEO Nam emphasized, "Unlike other companies' products that require users to assemble and attach the device themselves, ours is a finished product that attaches with a single press like stamping, greatly enhancing user convenience. Moreover, the performance is similar to existing products, and the price is set at about 80% of current products, so we believe it definitely has competitive strength."

Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices are another area i-SENS has recently focused on. In addition to glycated hemoglobin measurement devices that easily assess recent average blood glucose levels in diabetic patients, i-SENS has added POCT functions measuring glycated albumin and creatinine, indicators of heart failure, and has secured export contracts to Japan, showing continued success.

CEO Nam stated, "Currently, the sales ratio between blood glucose meters and POCT is about 80 to 20, but we aim to raise it to around 65 to 35, making POCT another growth engine." He explained that especially if successfully established, the market will generate continuous demand for consumables, allowing for stable sales growth.

i-SENS CI (Photo by i-SENS)

CEO Nam did not hide his concerns about securing future growth engines. He revealed plans to pioneer the CGM and POCT markets based on the solid cash cow of the blood glucose monitoring business, while also advancing into digital health and wearable devices.

To this end, he is actively seeking investments. CEO Nam said, "We are currently looking at about four domestic digital health companies through various routes, from securing intellectual property rights to equity investments and acquisitions. Investments have already been made in two companies, and two others are under review." He added, "Since this is still an untapped market, we are directly investing in companies that have established basic business models to identify truly promising and acquirable firms."

CEO Nam added, "We are conducting due diligence on two to three companies in Europe and compiling a list in the U.S. Ultimately, we do not intend to stray far from our specialty, which is measurement-related fields."