Kakao is throwing the hat into the healthcare business

including GS and Lotte

The countdown to the establishment of Lotte Biologics

Kakao Healthcare and CJ Bioscience Launches

Large domestic companies are throwing their hat into the healthcare business.

 

In the past year, leading conglomerates such as Lotte, Kakao, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy Industries & Construction, GS, CJ, and OCI have formalized their entry into the healthcare market.

 

Analysts say that Samsung and SK have succeeded in the pharmaceutical bio business one after another, stimulating these companies.

 

◆Lotte Biologics' pre-debut notice at "BioUSA" According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 9th, Lotte Group announced that it will attend the "BioUSA" in the U.S.

 

in June.

 

Lotte Biologics, which recently completed its trademark application, is expected to make its debut through BioUSA.

 

In March last year, it became the second-largest shareholder by acquiring part of the stake in Enzychem.

 

In August last year, Lotte Group's ESG Management Innovation Office established a new growth team (biological team) and a new growth team (health care team).

 

Lotte Biologics, which is about to be officially launched, is known to be in charge of the CMO business of biopharmaceuticals.

 

Lee Won-jik, a former executive director of Samsung Biologics, is said to be leading the new growth team, which will be the mainstay of Lotte Biologics.

 

◆ GS, CJ, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Kakao, OCI In addition to Lotte, GS, CJ, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Kakao, and OCI have visualized their entry into the healthcare business in the past year.

 

GS acquired Hugel in August last year.

 

A multinational consortium led by GS Group, APHRODITE ACQUISITION HOLDINGS LLC, signed a stock transfer contract to purchase a 46.9% stake in Hugel.

 

The acquisition amount amounts to 1.724 trillion won.

 

▲ GS acquired Hugel, OCI acquired Bukwang, and CJ acquired ChunLab, signaling full-fledged entry into the pharmaceutical bio business OCI acquired Bukwang Pharmaceutical in February this year.

 

OCI became the largest shareholder as it secured an 11% stake in Chairman Kim Dong-yeon, founder of Bukwang Pharmaceutical.

 

It is interpreted as a signal that it will enter the pharmaceutical bio business in earnest.

 

At this year's general meeting of Bukwang Pharmaceutical's shareholders, Lee Woo-hyun, vice chairman of OCI, became co-CEO of Bukwang with the existing CEO Yoo Hee-won.

 

CJ officially launched CJ Bioscience under CJ group in January this year.

 

CJ Bioscience selected Microbiome as its core business.

 

To this end, it acquired ChunLab, a microbiome company, in October last year.

 

CEO Chun Jong-sik, who led ChunLab, will continue to represent CJ Bioscience.

 

Kakao newly established 'Kakao Healthcare' in March.

 

Healthcare CIC, which was previously operated as an in-house independent corporation, was separated into separate corporations.

 

Prior to this, Hwang Hee, a professor at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, who was recruited in December 2021, was appointed.

 

Kakao Healthcare is expected to focus on digital healthcare businesses such as AI-based medical solution development and service industry, health care by life cycle, and smart medical care.

 

Doosan added a medical device business to its business area through the revision of its articles of association at a shareholders' meeting held in March this year.

 

Doosan is planning to target the biopharmaceutical container market.

 

In December last year, it invested $100 million in SiO2, a U.S.

 

drug storage container company.

 

At the same time, it secured exclusive business rights in Asia and Oceania for all SiO2 products.

 

It is planning to start manufacturing in South Korea in the future.

 

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, the holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, changed its name to HD Hyundai at a shareholders' meeting in March this year and announced plans to support four future industries, including healthcare.

 

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings established 'AMC' last year and is also developing new drugs.

 

In the pharmaceutical industry, it is interpreted that the success of Samsung and SK, which entered the field first, served as a stimulus to large companies' entry into the bio business.

 

Samsung Biologics, SK Bioscience, and SK Biopharm, affiliates of the two groups, have become leading companies in the industry before and after the Corona crisis.

 

Large domestic companies began the pharmaceutical bio business with enthusiasm in the past, but withdrew one after another in the mid-2010s.

 

Lotte Pharmaceutical was launched in 2002 when it acquired a subsidiary of Ilyang Pharmaceutical's health functional food.

 

However, in 2011, Lotte Pharmaceutical was merged into Lotte Confectionery and withdrew from the market.

 

In 2014, CJ spun off CJ Healthcare as a separate subsidiary of the pharmaceutical division, driving the pharmaceutical bio business.

 

However, it sold its 100% stake in CJ Healthcare to Kolmar Korea for 1.31 trillion won in 2018.

 

Hanwha established the pharmaceutical business department in 2996 and launched Dream Pharma by absorbing and merging H-PHARM in 2004.

 

Although it made a large-scale investment to develop a biosimilar of Enbrel, a TNF alpha inhibitor through Dream Pharma, it eventually sold Dream Pharma to Alvogen in 2014 as product development was delayed and related contracts were terminated.

 

AmorePacific sold its subsidiary Pacific Pharmaceutical Co.

 

to Handok in 2013 to focus on its beauty business.