Huons Group 'Attack Forward'

Huons Biopharma IPO 추진
Expansion of Humedics CMO and Securing Growth Engines

Exterior view of Huons Group's new office building in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province (Photo by Huons)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Huons Group is actively working to secure future growth engines by strengthening capabilities such as research and development (R&D).

According to Huons on the 22nd, Huons Biopharma, an independent corporation leading the botulinum toxin 'Hutox' (domestic name Reztoks), has signed large-scale export contracts with the big three markets: the United States, Europe, and China. Beyond simple finished product exports to China, it attracted a large capital investment of 155.4 billion KRW from its partner iMaker to develop a future-oriented partnership. An initial public offering (IPO) is also being pursued.

Humedics, to expand contract manufacturing organization (CMO) operations, has attracted the CMO for the COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' through its newly completed second plant and is accelerating the expansion of the eye drop CMO business as a future strategic project. Huons Natural and Huons Nature lead the cash cow health functional food business. They have various lineups ranging from basic health supplements like multivitamins to ginseng and red ginseng, and through 'Eluvi Menolacto Probiotics,' which includes the functional probiotic YT1 for female menopause, they are emerging as a new strong player in the female menopause market.

The group is also actively investing its capabilities in R&D. Since early this year, Humedics has consecutively signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) or contracts for joint research and development or pipeline introduction with R&D specialized companies such as Genenbio, HLB Pharmaceutical, Kineta, and G2G Bio. In particular, they are focusing on developing long-acting injectable drugs that only need to be administered once every 1 to 3 months, instead of daily dosing, for greater convenience. Humedics plans to develop obesity treatments with HLB Pharmaceutical and long-acting injectable drugs targeting Alzheimer's, diabetes, and osteoarthritis with G2G Bio.

They have also rolled up their sleeves for sustainable management. In August, Huons Group launched the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Management Innovation Team to integrate and operate ESG activities that had been pursued by each company. They plan to disclose annual performance every year through the publication of a sustainability management report.