Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech industry set all-time highs last year in both drug production and exports.
As biopharmaceutical exports led by biosimilars surged, drug exports topped $10 billion for the first time, and production exceeded 33 trillion won.
On the 2nd, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety announced the "2025 drug production and trade performance." According to the announcement, domestic drug production last year rose 3% to 33.8466 trillion won from 32.8629 trillion won a year earlier. That is the largest scale since related statistics began in 1998.
Drug exports climbed 12.4% from a year earlier to $10.438 billion, surpassing $10 billion annually for the first time. Imports rose 5.9% to $8.93219 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.00581 billion. The surplus was also a record high.
However, the domestic drug market reached 31.7054 trillion won, up just 0.03% from a year earlier, showing stagnant growth. Analysts said exports are increasingly driving industry growth.
◇Biopharmaceuticals drive results
Biopharmaceuticals led the results. Last year, biopharmaceutical production rose 11.2% from a year earlier to 7.0214 trillion won, and exports increased 17.5% to $7.64 billion, both record highs.
Biopharmaceuticals accounted for about 73% of total drug exports, establishing themselves as the core export items of the domestic pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said the expansion of the global biosimilar market and strengthened contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) competitiveness of domestic corporations were key drivers of export growth.
In fact, biosimilar production jumped 43.5% from a year earlier to 2.565 trillion won. The spread of subcutaneous injection (SC) formulations suitable for self-administration and broader global prescribing propelled the increase.
By country, the United States was the largest destination for biopharmaceutical exports at $1.71 billion, followed by Switzerland ($1.19 billion), Hungary ($910 million), the Netherlands ($640 million) and Germany ($500 million). Exports to Switzerland and the Netherlands grew sharply on the back of expanded CDMO contracts with global drugmakers and higher biosimilar sales.
◇Four corporations top 1 trillion won in production… Celltrion joins the first "3 trillion club"
By corporation, Celltrion stood out.
Celltrion's production reached 3.2254 trillion won last year, up 27.6% from a year earlier, becoming the first in the domestic pharmaceutical sector to top 3 trillion won in annual production. Celltrion alone accounted for 9.5% of total drug production.
They were followed by Hanmi Pharmaceutical (1.2985 trillion won), Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical (1.2249 trillion won) and Daewoong Pharmaceutical (1.0418 trillion won), all surpassing 1 trillion won in production. The number of companies with production over 1 trillion won increased from three to four.
Still, top drugmakers showed mixed results. Celltrion and Daewoong Pharmaceutical (14.8%) and Boryung (25.4%) posted double-digit growth, while Hanmi Pharmaceutical fell 2.9% and HK inno.N dropped 14.9%.
By product, Celltrion's autoimmune disease biosimilar "Steqeyma prefilled injection" ranked first for the first time with 306.3 billion won in production. "Nabota injection" (227.9 billion won) and "Remsima injection 100 mg" (191.9 billion won) placed second and third, respectively, and HK inno.N's gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment "K-CAB tablets" ranked fourth with 185.9 billion won. Yuhan's Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment "Leclaza" rose 41.9% to 150.2 billion won, continuing its growth.
Celltrion also remained strong in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production. "Remsima drug substance" took first place with 721.5 billion won, while "Remsima subcutaneous injection drug substance" and "Herzuma drug substance" also ranked near the top.
In contrast, over-the-counter drug production fell 6.0% from a year earlier. Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical's "Imotun capsules" ranked first in OTC production, followed by Dongwha Pharm's "Gas Whal Myung Su Q liquid" and "Itchi paste."
◇Wegovy and Mounjaro boom… obesity drug imports surge
In the import market, glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 class obesity treatments gained traction.
Denmark-based Novo Nordisk posted $639.6 million in imports, up 211.3% from a year earlier, and topped the list of importers for the first time.
The Korea subsidiary of U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company, Korea Lilly, also jumped to fourth place as imports surged 297.8% on the back of the Mounjaro launch effect.
Obesity treatments also dominated the import rankings by product. Wegovy prefilled pen 2.4 mg ranked first with $200.92 million, and Mounjaro 5 mg ranked fourth in its launch year. Imports of obesity and diabetes treatments jumped 530.7% to $550.84 million from a year earlier.
The quasi-drug market also continued to recover. The market reached 1.8414 trillion won last year, up 4.9% from a year earlier. Mask demand fell after the COVID-19 endemic, but production of toothpaste and menstrual products rose 11.5% and 13.6%, respectively, with everyday items leading growth.
Industry officials expect export competitiveness centered on biosimilars and CDMO to drive growth in the domestic pharmaceutical and biotech industry. With the domestic market effectively stagnant, expansion into global markets is cited as a key task for future growth.