Competition is intensifying as Korean pharmaceutical and biotech corporations move into the skin booster market.
With anti-aging and well-aging trends aligning with technological advances, analysts say skin boosters are emerging as a new revenue source for corporations. A skin booster is a procedure that induces regeneration by directly injecting active ingredients into the skin, and most of the products corporations develop and launch fall under medical devices.
On the 14th, according to the medical community, as the spring conference season gets underway, skin boosters have emerged as a key topic at major plastic surgery and dermatology academic events.
At academic events that previously focused on botulinum toxin and fillers—covering treatment trends, product competitiveness, and safety—skin boosters have risen as a main agenda item. Major corporations are ramping up their marketing in response.
L&C BIO, which developed the human tissue–based skin booster Re2O (Elravie Re2O), participated as a diamond sponsor at APS KOREA 2026, an Asia-Pacific plastic surgery academic event held on the 11th–12th. On site, a symposium and sessions addressed product treatment strategies and future scalability.
CHA Biotech affiliate Cha Meditech took part in the spring conference of the Korean Society for Aesthetic and Laser Medicine (ASLS), operating a booth to promote its recently launched HYRAURA skin booster and introducing treatment techniques and product characteristics through lectures for medical professionals.
◇ Corporations compete to differentiate as "Korea leads the trend"
Global market research firm Grand View Research projected that the overall global facial aesthetics market, excluding surgical procedures, will grow at an average annual rate of about 11% from about $12.5 billion (about 18 trillion won) in 2024 to about $35 billion (about 51 trillion won) in 2030.
In particular, the skin booster market is expected to post even steeper growth. The firm observed that Korea will emerge as a key market leading global trends, recording an average annual growth rate of more than 16% through 2030.
The analysis is that the skin booster market is evolving beyond simple hydration into a "technology-intensive industry" centered on next-generation regenerative ingredients such as exosomes (Exosome), PDRN, and PLLA, and that male consumers are rapidly entering what had been a female-centered market.
In practice, corporations are expanding from hyaluronic acid (HA)–centered products to PN (polynucleotide) and ECM (extracellular matrix)–based products, competing through ingredient differentiation.
Cha Meditech sought differentiation by unveiling a skin booster targeting the dWAT (dermal white adipose tissue) layer that supports skin structure. The product features a "dual rheology design," being smooth upon injection while enhancing formulation retention after treatment.
Hans Biomed moved to expand the market by launching the ECM-based skin booster CellDM in September last year. Utilizing human tissue–derived human acellular dermal matrix (hADM) to supplement the extracellular matrix and help restore skin structure, the product touts a shorter recovery time and longer intervals between treatments compared with existing PN-based products.
Recently, Hugel signed a domestic distribution agreement with Hans Biomed and secured distribution rights. The strategy is to broaden treatment offerings by adding an ECM skin booster to its existing focus on botulinum toxin and fillers.
CG MedTech is developing the ECM-based skin booster "CG Realo Inject Fine," which will be distributed after launch through DN Company, an affiliate of the Daewoong Group. In addition, Huons Group affiliate Humedix, CLASSYS, WONTECH, and Asterasys have jumped into developing next-generation ingredients and new formulations.
◇ "No absolute powerhouse" market as K-beauty targets overseas
Domestic corporations are accelerating their push into overseas markets as well as the domestic market.
PharmaResearch this year obtained product approval for the skin booster Rejuran from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). The product is a skin-regenerating injectable that uses salmon-derived DNA ingredients and has also been approved in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.
JETEMA, which has focused on the botulinum toxin business, is working with Hanmi Pharmaceutical to advance the hyaluronic acid skin booster product Re Vine into the U.S. market. Re Vine contains the same ingredients as Hanmi Pharmaceutical's hyaluronic acid (HA) injection for osteoarthritis treatment, HyalruMa, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but it has been developed for aesthetic medical use.
The skin booster market is growing rapidly, but it is not yet dominated by any particular corporation. Currently, the global aesthetic medicine market is led by Galderma and AbbVie (Allergan), which leverage distribution networks and brand strength, but there is also the view that ranking is difficult because product ingredients and characteristics vary by item.