The company listed on the Korea Exchange METACARE(118000) said on the 10th that it signed a contract manufacturing deal with Sears Pharmaceutical for a 0.2 mg hair loss treatment containing dutasteride and plans to begin full-scale sales after preparing for production and distribution.
The product is a low-dose 0.2 mg prescription drug containing dutasteride used to treat male pattern hair loss.
Until now, Korea's market for dutasteride hair loss treatments has centered on 0.5 mg products. However, in recent days, demand has been growing to choose low-dose products depending on the patient's condition and treatment purpose.
METACARE's 0.2 mg product allows convenient low-dose treatment with a single capsule, without separate dose adjustments or changes to the dosing interval.
Considering the nature of hair loss treatments taken over long periods, the company plans to target the market with a treatment option that secures price competitiveness while improving both dosing convenience and cost-effectiveness.
METACARE plans to nurture the hair loss treatment business as a new growth pillar with this launch and to continuously expand its portfolio of hair loss-related medicines.
It will also expand business synergy with parent company MetaLabs. METACARE plans to link its hair loss pharmaceuticals business with the group purchasing organization (GPO) business of JK Medi, which it recently acquired, to strengthen its capabilities in supplying medicines and medical consumables. In addition, it will combine more than 200,000 accumulated customer records with MetaLabs' healthcare management consulting capabilities for medical institutions and its hair loss-focused customer relationship management (CRM) solution.
The two companies aim to build a "full-stack hair loss healthcare ecosystem" that connects the entire process—from supplying hair loss medicines and medical consumables to hair loss treatment, hair transplantation, aftercare, and data utilization—into one.
A METACARE official said, "Starting with the launch of the 0.2 mg product, we plan to secure a meaningful business footing in the hair loss treatment market and gradually expand our portfolio of related medicines."