"We will begin preparing for future sources of revenue."
Seo Jung-jin, Honorary Chairman of the Celltrion Group, announced his retirement in December 2020 and stepped down from his position as an inside director of Celltrion Group affiliates in March 2021. Like other executives, he kept his promise to retire at the mandatory retirement age of 65. However, there was a caveat: "I will return if there are sudden internal or external environmental changes." Upon his departure, the Celltrion Group transitioned to second-generation management, with his eldest son Seo Jin-seok, Senior Vice President of Celltrion, taking charge of Celltrion and Celltrion Pharm, and his second son Seo Jun-seok, Director of Celltrion, overseeing Celltrion Healthcare.
As promised two years ago, Honorary Chairman Seo is returning to the forefront of management. This is to seek future growth opportunities amid challenging internal and external conditions. Through this month's shareholders' meeting, Seo will serve as an inside director and co-chairman of the board for major listed affiliates including the holding company Celltrion Holdings, Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare, and Celltrion Pharm. The founder's return was made possible by requests from the current management, including his sons, for a temporary return to leadership.
The group's internal and external environment is not easy. Although Celltrion achieved record-high sales last year, operating profit decreased by about 13% compared to the previous year. On a quarterly basis, operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year was halved compared to the same period the previous year. Celltrion Healthcare also recorded its highest-ever sales last year, but its fourth-quarter operating profit dropped by 46% year-on-year.
Seo's focus for future growth lies in expanding overseas markets such as the U.S. and Europe, as well as broadening platforms and pipelines. The Celltrion Group expects Seo's leadership to be a great help in maintaining its founding success, turning crises into opportunities. Follow-up biosimilar products like Vegzelma (CT-P16) and Uplyma (CT-P17) are awaiting approval and launch in the U.S., and Celltrion Healthcare is preparing to operate a direct sales system locally in the U.S. Additionally, the next-generation strategic product Remsima SC submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December last year, with approval expected by the end of this year.
This year, Celltrion plans to establish itself as a new drug development company by securing antibody-based new drug pipelines and new formulations. Recently, it has been expanding its product development platforms and pipelines through open innovation with domestic and international companies in various fields such as new antibody therapeutics, antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) anticancer drugs, bispecific antibodies, microbiomes, and oral antibody therapeutics.
The market views Seo's return positively, regardless of performance forecasts. Geun-hee Seo, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, "Since this is an important milestone ahead of Uplyma's U.S. launch, I view the business strategy positively." Ji-su Lee, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, evaluated, "Decisions related to the U.S. launch strategy and new business entry will proceed quickly. This will positively impact the company's future value."
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