News
2022.09.22
Lim Chong-Yoon, president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, is strengthening his initiative in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
After the death of Lim Sung-Ki, Honorary Chairman of Hanmi, Lim has been growing his roles through corporate acquisitions and the expansion of investments in companies that he privately owned or invested.
◆President Lim owns 3 corporations, including Dx&Vx, COREE Company and Ofmom Korea
On the 21st of September, Dx&Vx has acquired Korea Biopharm, a health supplement manufacturing company, for 15 billion won, and appointed Yoo Gun-Sang as the company CEO, according to industry sources. Yoo is known as a close aide to Lim Chong-Yoon, president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical.
▲ Lim Chong-Yoon, president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical
This acquisition is very remarkable in view of Lim’s recent business activities. Lim has been strengthening his initiative through three corporates that he privately owned, after the death of Lim Sung-Ki, founder and honorary chairman of Hanmi.
President Lim is currently the largest shareholders of three corporates, which are not associated with Hanmi Pharmaceutical. Dx&Vx, Coree Company and Ofmom are privately invested by Lim, without any equity investment by Hanmi Pharmaceutical.
Founded in Hong Kong back in 2007, Coree Company is a corporate that specializes in new drug research and venture investment. Lim Chong-Yoon is the CEO and owns most of the shares. The company has local subsidiaries in US, China and Italy. In Korea, the company runs Coree Pohang as its subsidiary.
Ofmom Korea Company was established in 2017. President Lim is the largest shareholder with a 40% stake, while Lim Ju-hyun and Lim Jong-hoon each own a 30% stake. Its core business is infant formula products in the Chinese market. The head office is located in the Hanmi building in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and the company operates local subsidiaries in US, China and Italy.
Dx&Vx is a company specializing in genome analysis and molecular diagnosis, formerly Cancerrop. Lim became the largest shareholder after acquiring a 19% stake by trading 20 billion won worth of shares of Hanmi. Later, the company changed its name to Dx&Vx. Lim, as the largest shareholder, has been shaping and presenting the business direction of the company.
▲ Three corporates with Lim Chong-Yoon as the largest shareholder
◆ Expand corporate acquisition and investments
Through the acquisition of Korea BioPharm, Lim Chong-Yoon expanded the business area of three privately owned corporates, from new drug R&D, venture investment, genome analysis and diagnosis, and health supplement distributions to pharmaceuticals and health supplement manufactures.
The pharmaceutical and bio industry pays attention to the fact that Lim is stepping up its initiative in the industry after the death of Lim Sung-Ki, former chairman.
The former chairman Lim Sung-Ki passed away in August 2020. After then, Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group underwent management reorganizations from two representation system by Lim Chong-Yoon and Song Young-Suk to the current single representative system, led solely by Song Young-Suk. Lim Chong-Yoon resigned as the CEO of Hanmi Science and a registered director. Currently, with Lim Ju-hyun and Lim Jong-hoon, president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Lim is in charge of internal director of Hanmi Pharmaceutical.
Lim Chong-Yoon took over Cancerrop about a year after the death of former chairman Lim Sung-Ki. After the takeover, Lim Chong-Yoon established a business link with Coree Company that he owns privately. Last October, Cancerrop signed an immune cell profiling research service contract worth 3 billion won with Coree Company in an effort to establish big data for vaccine development.
Last October, Lim was appointed as a registered director of Oxford Vacmedix. Oxford Vacmedix is a spin-off company of Oxford University, which develops anti-cancer immune vaccines. Cancerrop became the largest shareholder by acquiring a 43 % stake of Oxford Vacmedix in 2018.
After renamed as Dx&Vx last December, the company has been enlarging its overseas business. Since this May, the company has been distributing and selling COVID-19 antigen self-testing kit in Korea, and then expanded its business to China recently.
As a result, Dx&Vx recorded 13 billion won in sales and 1.1 billion won in operating profit in the first half of the year. The company recorded operating loss for five consecutive years until 2021. Following the recent acquisition of Korea Biopharm, Dx&Vx also envisages a further acquisition in the second half of this year.
Coree Company also operates several business projects on the boil. Last November, Coree signed a strategic partnership agreement (HOA) with Infini Fludics, a spin-off from the University of Pennsylvania. The agreement is about jointly developing a new production method for LNP structure, which is an mRNA vaccine drug delivery system. This March, the company invested 4 billion won in Herings, a digital therapeutics company.
Source: Daily Pharm