News
2023.09.06
“After the resumption of trading in last March, we proclaimed our second phase of expansion. We will build a virtuous cycle of profit generation and innovative drug development.”
Kwon Kyu-chan, the CEO of DxVx, said “We aim to grow as a comprehensive healthcare company that covers diagnosis, prevention and treatment.”
CEO Kwon is an expert in the new drug development with a background in LG Chemicals, LG Life Science RA Team, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, and leadership at Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Global Business Division. His expertise is the global clinical development, approval, and technology transfer of bio and follow-on-drug. He joined DxVx as the head of R&D last April, subsequently being appointed as the company’s representative via the board of management.
Originally established as MG Med, a 100% subsidiary of Macrogen, DxVx initially focused on in vitro diagnostic sector, including prenatal and postnatal genetic analysis through services as ‘Genome Check G’. However, trading of stock on the KOSDAQ market was suspended in 2019 due to the rejection of the external audit opinion.
DxVx embarked on re-establishing its operational stability after Lim Chong-yoon, CEO of Hanmi, became the largest shareholder in the company last year. Subsequently, DxVx acquired Korea Biopharm, a company adhering to Good Manufacturing and Quality Management (GMP) standards, as a 100% subsidiary. This strategic move allowed DxVx to build a comprehensive business structure encompassing research, development, clinical production, and distribution.
Notably, DxVx's sales, as per last year’s consolidated financial statements, reached 32.2 billion won, marking a 331% increase compared to the previous year. The company also achieved an operating profit of 2.5 billion won, marking its first profitable year in seven years. Within this existing businesses, genome diagnostics and in vitro diagnostics contributed 11.9 billion won in sales, while the new bio healthcare division generated 20.3 billion won in sales. The sales proportion of the diagnostic business and bio healthcare division was 37% and 63%, respectively, successfully improving the company's overall financial situation.
For the second quarter of this year, DxVx reported sales amounting to 14.1 billion, a 98% increase compared to the same period year. The sales in bio healthcare business grew by 143% to 11 billion. DxVx anticipates even greater sales growth for the current year, particularly with its Chinese subsidiary, which recently announced entry into the antibiotic market through Coree Group, projected to witness a significant sales boost.
As a pivotal strategy to enhance its future value, DxVx has been strengthening its capabilities in new drug development. In April, DxVx acquired Avixgen, a specialized company in the field of new drug development. Additionally, DxVx is leveraging its existing genome analysis capabilities to develop new microbiome drugs and has commenced its new drug development efforts. The company is actively reviewing the introduction of further new drug candidates and innovative technologies.
CEO Kwon has initiated the establishment of dedicated divisions for new drug research and clinical development, as a measure to increase the efficiency of new drug development.
CEO Kwon emphasized, “The virtuous cycle of cash generation and new drug development is already in motion,” and added, “We aim to initiate at least one clinical trial within the year and have at least three late-stage clinical pipelines within three years.”
Source: The Korea Economic Daily