Boryung, which surpassed 1 trillion won ($679.8 million) in annual revenue last year, has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening its core pharmaceutical business while aggressively investing in space medicine as a strategic growth engine.
At its 61st annual general shareholders’ meeting held on Monday at its headquarters in Jongno, Seoul, Boryung formalized the transition to a single-CEO system under third-generation leader Kim Jung-gyun.
The company said the decision to shift from a co-CEO structure with Jang Doo-hyun to sole leadership under Kim was made to "enable swift and effective execution of Boryung’s growth strategies amid an increasingly uncertain business environment."
The shareholder meeting marked Kim’s first official appearance as sole CEO.
Boryung CEO Kim Jung-gyun addresses shareholders during the company’s annual general shareholders meeting held at its headquarters in Jongno, Seoul, Monday. (Courtesy of Boryung)
Boryung CEO Kim Jung-gyun addresses shareholders during the company’s annual general shareholders meeting held at its headquarters in Jongno, Seoul, Monday. (Courtesy of Boryung)
“With our stable financial structure, we plan to invest in future-oriented strategic businesses such as space medicine by combining the cash flow generated from our pharmaceutical operations with a cautious financing strategy,” Kim said. “I believe the truest way to raise corporate value is a consistent investment for sustainable growth, grounded in a long-term perspective.”
Boryung recorded 1.017 trillion won in consolidated revenue and 70.5 billion won in operating profit last year.
“Compared to 2014, both revenue and operating profit have roughly tripled,” Kim said. “The company’s flagship hypertension drug line, Kanarb Family, which generated 136.2 billion won in sales last year, as well as the success of its legacy brand acquisition (LBA) strategy and co-promotion of acid reflux drug K-CAB helped us achieve such goals.”
Despite these solid results, Boryung’s stock price has remained stagnant over the past decade.
“I believe the company hasn’t effectively communicated its future direction,” Kims said. “The lack of clarity and uncertainty about what our growth is ultimately for may have hindered the market from properly recognizing our corporate value.”
To address this, Kim unveiled a long-term vision centered on enhancing qualitative growth, expanding the company’s future pipeline, and driving up shareholder value.
Kim stressed that it’s not enough to grow revenue simply.
“Improving the quality of our business and increasing market confidence is the best way to reward shareholders,” he said.
Strategic shift toward space healthcare
Kim used the opportunity to double down on his high-profile ambitions in the space healthcare sector.
So far, Boryung has invested over 90 billion won across 11 space-related projects, including its high-profile strategic investments in U.S. companies Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines.
“Space medicine is not just about developing drugs in space,” Kim said. “We aim to secure infrastructure for R&D, identify promising research projects, and build CRO businesses.”
The company is establishing the equation that space medicine equals Boryung, he added.
Boryung plans to go beyond microgravity-based drug discovery, expanding into research activities in low Earth orbit (LEO) and even on the lunar surface.
Previously, Boryung participated in space projects primarily through equity investments. However, Kim now wants the company to take the lead.
“We will consider owning and directly managing projects, not just investing in others,” he said. “We’re focusing on facilitating early-stage research in space and creating business opportunities from it.”
One key partner is Axiom Space, a U.S.-based private space station developer.
“As the International Space Station is set to retire by 2030, Axiom is stepping in to fill the void. With our investment, we intend to conduct R&D in space and support global researchers to accelerate commercialization,” Kim said.
Dual focus: space innovation and pharma stability
While expanding its presence in space, Boryung continues to reinforce its foundation in pharmaceuticals—particularly the production of essential drugs like antibiotics and cytotoxic cancer treatments.
In late 2024, Boryung signed a CDMO contract with Taiwan’s Lotus Pharmaceutical, enabling the company to internalize the production of cytotoxic oncology drugs and supply them globally.
“We are committed to addressing the growing shortages in essential medicines,” Kim said. “At our Ansan plant, we already produce 60 percent of Korea’s oral penicillin antibiotics.”
The country urgently needs to stabilize its supply chains for critical drugs, he added.
Kim described pharmaceuticals as Boryung’s “core business” and space as its “strategic business.”
“Once we secure stable cash flows from pharma, we can channel that into strategic investments in space medicine to drive our future growth,” he said.
Investor confidence and shareholder value
To boost shareholder returns, Boryung recently retired 1 million shares worth approximately 10 billion won from its treasury stock. The remaining 1.8 million shares will be used for restricted stock awards (RSA) to incentivize key talent and executives.
“RSA is a powerful tool to enhance employee loyalty and secure long-term growth together,” Kim said. “We will distribute the shares gradually, not all at once, and use them to strengthen company ownership.”
Importantly, Kim made clear that he will not be a recipient of the RSA incentives. “I have no plans to include myself as a beneficiary of the RSA program,” he stated.
When questioned about the company’s amendment to raise issuance limits for convertible bonds (CBs) and bonds with warrants (BWs) from 100 billion won to 400 billion won each, Kim dismissed concerns over shareholder dilution.
“We have no immediate plans to issue additional stock. We just want to maintain flexibility amid market uncertainties,” he said. “This is purely a procedural adjustment given our increased scale.”
Despite skepticism from some investors over the clarity of Boryung’s direction, Kim remained resolute.
“This path is neither easy nor popular,” he said. “But I’m convinced it’s the right one and I want our employees and shareholders to feel proud that we are contributing something meaningful to the world.”
Meanwhile, all agenda items, including the appointment of internal and external directors and revisions to the company’s articles of incorporation, were approved as originally proposed.
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HLB cleared one hurdle with the FDA last year—but it was Hengrui’s factory in China that tripped the filing up again.
Just 10 hours after the agency issued a second complete response letter (CRL) rejecting CAM-RIVO—HLB’s liver cancer combo of PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab and VEGFR inhibitor rivoceranib—over unresolved manufacturing lapses at the Suzhou site, the Korean drugmaker came out swinging.
In a hastily arranged 9 a.m. press conference Friday, executives downplayed the setback as a fixable bump in the road. “We know our drug works,” Chairman Jin Yang-gon said, emphasizing that efficacy wasn’t in question. “We just have to get the paperwork and procedures right.”
From left, Han Yong-hae, CTO of HLB; Jin Yang-gon, Chairman of HLB; and Chong Sae-ho, CEO of Elevar Therapeutics, during an online press conference Friday morning to address the FDA’s second rejection of CAM-RIVO over manufacturing issues at Hengrui’s plant.
From left, Han Yong-hae, CTO of HLB; Jin Yang-gon, Chairman of HLB; and Chong Sae-ho, CEO of Elevar Therapeutics, during an online press conference Friday morning to address the FDA’s second rejection of CAM-RIVO over manufacturing issues at Hengrui’s plant.
CAM-RIVO faced another setback over manufacturing issues—specifically at a plant in Suzhou, China, run by Suzhou Suncadia Biopharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hengrui, HLB’s Chinese partner. The FDA flagged lapses in sterilization, quality control, and electronic systems.
Compared to the 10-observation Form 483 issued in December 2023—which tanked the company’s first submission in May last year—the latest report contains just three. That alone, said CTO Han Yong-hae, shows how far they’ve come.
The three cited issues included lax microbiological contamination controls, inconsistent visual inspection protocols, and automation systems that were either incomplete or poorly validated. Of those, Han pointed to sterilization lapses as “likely the most serious,” but insisted the issues were procedural, not scientific. “These aren’t fundamental problems with the drug,” he said. “They’re fixable.”
Still, the miss has stung—and left HLB scrambling to reset expectations. The company is aiming to refile by May and says an FDA decision could land as early as July, assuming the agency grants a Class 1 review. That would match the company's timeline last year when it submitted a new application just four months after receiving its first CRL in May.
Jin said the company tapped a former head of the FDA’s chemistry manufacturing control (CMC) division to support its latest resubmission. "We don't think this will escalate to Class 2," he said. "The timeline depends on whether we're asked to go through another inspection."
HLB expects Hengrui to receive a post-action letter from the FDA within two to three weeks. That should pinpoint the agency’s lingering concerns—and allow the company to respond within a month.
Jin also dismissed any suggestions that CAM-RIVO's struggles reflect broader U.S.-China regulatory friction. "There’s a narrative that Chinese drugs are being singled out," he said. "But dozens of Chinese biologics have been approved in the past year. This isn’t about politics."
He pointed to recent FDA approvals from BeiGene and Junshi as evidence. Relocating manufacturing out of China, he added, would only delay things further.
"Building a new supply chain would set us back years," he said. "Fixing what we have is the fastest path forward."
The company still plans to pursue European approval for CAM-RIVO. While executives initially said during the conference that they were targeting July, an HLB spokesperson later clarified via Telegram that the EMA filing is more likely in September.
HLB now faces added pressure from Bristol Myers Squibb, whose Opdivo-Yervoy combo—CAM-RIVO’s closest rival in liver cancer—is slated for an FDA decision next month, and missing the timing window could cede valuable ground.
Even so, Jin isn't rattled. "We’re confident in our clinical data," he said. "If we make our case at the ground level, we can still win share."
For now, the focus remains squarely on liver cancer. Other indications, like adenoid cystic carcinoma and bile duct cancer, remain in play but aren’t top priority. He also downplayed any pivot to rivoceranib monotherapy. It works, he said, but with the patent set to expire in 2034, "the economics just don’t add up."
Two CRLs in under a year is a bruising record. But HLB is betting that the third time’s the charm—and that FDA patience hasn’t worn thin just yet.
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