Kyungdong Pharmaceutical Expands Bio Healthcare Investment... "Accelerating Securing New Growth Engines"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Kyungdong Pharmaceutical announced on the 28th that it will continue to expand investments in various new drug research and development and the bio healthcare sector to secure future growth engines.

Since CEO Ryu Ki-sung took office, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical has been actively expanding investments in research and development of improved and combination new drugs. By the third quarter of this year, it invested 8 billion KRW in R&D, and the total annual amount is expected to exceed 10 billion KRW, marking the largest scale ever. This reflects the management's strong determination to secure future growth engines despite changes in the external environment caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

A Kyungdong Pharmaceutical official said, "Many pharmaceutical companies have suffered sales damage due to a decrease in visits to private clinics caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic," adding, "In this situation, expanding new drug development and new business investments to ensure sustainable corporate growth and enhance corporate value is essential."

In December last year, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical launched 'Valtrio,' a triple combination drug containing valsartan from the ARB class for hypertension treatment, amlodipine from the CCB class, and rosuvastatin for hyperlipidemia treatment.

Along with expanding its own R&D investments, the company is also actively increasing investments in bio healthcare companies. It has made equity investments and signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with ANLBIO, a company specializing in gene therapy for brain diseases, and Hexapharmatech, a company specializing in innovative new drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) development. The company plans to enhance business synergy with excellent bio venture companies and actively secure new growth engines.

The official emphasized, "Based on abundant liquidity, we will not only strengthen our own R&D capabilities but also expand investments in bio healthcare venture companies to prepare future growth engines for the company."

Meanwhile, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical is also expanding investments in over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, injectables, and health functional foods to diversify its business portfolio centered on ethical drugs (ETC). In particular, the OTC brand 'Geunareun' has significantly increased brand awareness by selecting singer IU as its advertising model and continuously strengthening promotions. Following painkillers, cold medicines, and patches, various OTC drugs will continue to be launched under the 'Geunareun' brand.