The Samyang Biopharm(0120G0), which was spin-off from Samyang Group last year, has posted its first half-year results as an independent corporation.
According to the semiannual report Samyang Biopharm disclosed on the 14th, first-half sales this year were 67.033 billion won and operating profit was 2.133 billion won. About 60% of total sales came from overseas. In particular, for medical devices such as biodegradable surgical sutures and absorbable hemostats, 82% of sales were generated overseas.
Profitability was also supported by the medical device business. The medical device division posted 10.6 billion won in operating profit and pharmaceuticals posted 1.9 billion won, but new drug development and other divisions recorded an operating loss of 10.4 billion won.
Whether Samyang Biopharm, launched as an independent corporation in Nov. 2025 amid the group's management succession and business restructuring, can deliver new drug development results while maintaining the profitability of its existing businesses is expected to determine its future corporate value.
Founded in 1924 and marking its 100th anniversary in 2024, Samyang Group has a structure in which third-generation family members—Kim Yun, Kim Ryang, Kim Won and Kim Jeong, the grandchildren of founder Kim Yeon-su—have divided and managed affiliates. Chairman Kim Yun and Vice Chairman Kim Ryang are the children of the late Chairman Kim Sang-hong, the founder's third son, while Vice Chairmen Kim Won and Kim Jeong are the children of the late Chairman Kim Sang-ha, the fifth son.
◇ Split off again in Nov. 2025…restructuring the pharma-bio business
Samyang Biopharm's business foundation is biodegradable surgical sutures, which it has pursued for more than 30 years. Leveraging polymer technology accumulated in chemical materials, Samyang expanded into healthcare and entered medical suture research in 1987.
In 1993, through industry-academia cooperation with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), it succeeded in developing the first biodegradable surgical suture yarn in Korea and the third in the world, and began commercial production in 1996. It then targeted overseas markets and has maintained the No. 1 global market share in suture yarns since 2019. Building on this, it expanded into medical devices such as absorbable hemostats and fillers.
On Nov. 1 last year, Samyang Biopharm was newly established by spin-off of the pharma-bio business division from Samyang Holdings(000070). This was not the first time the pharma-bio business was separated into an independent corporation.
When Samyang shifted to a holding company structure in 2011, it created Samyang Biopharm through a physical split of the pharma business, but in 2021 it was merged back into Samyang Holdings. After the business was separated again last year, Samyang Holdings became a holding company focused on investment and leasing, and Samyang Biopharm took on the role of a pharma-bio operating company. The decision also reflects the growth in scale and profitability of the pharma-bio business.
A biotech industry expert familiar with Samyang Group's situation said, "It reflects changes in business strategy by period," adding, "As the pharma-bio business expands from medical devices to new drug development, separating it into an independent corporation can be seen as a strategy to accelerate investment and business expansion."
◇ Samyang Biopharm leaves the holding company's fold…owned directly by the owner family
The most notable change after the partitioning is the governance structure.
While Samyang Corporation is 61.83% owned by Samyang Holdings, Samyang Biopharm is structured so that the holding company Samyang Holdings is not the largest shareholder; instead, the owner family directly holds equity.
As of the end of June, Vice Chairman Kim Won of Samyang Corporation held 5.80%, Vice Chairman Kim Jeong of Samyang Packaging 5.21%, President Kim Geon-ho of Samyang Holdings 4.23%, Kim Tae-ho 3.60%, Kim Nam-ho 3.34% and Chairman Kim Yun of Samyang Holdings 3.46%. The combined stake of the owner family, the Sudang Foundation and other largest shareholders and related parties exceeds 46%.
The "cousin management" structure, in which third-generation members such as Chairman Kim Yun and Vice Chairmen Kim Won and Kim Jeong have divided and overseen affiliates, is also reflected in the equity.
◇ Fourth-generation owners Kim Geon-ho and Kim Nam-ho take different paths
The figure drawing attention in Samyang Group's governance restructuring is President Kim Geon-ho of Samyang Holdings, the eldest son of Chairman Kim Yun.
Born in 1983, Kim is known to have majored in finance at Lehigh University in the United States and joined Samyang Corporation in 2014. After serving in several teams, he was appointed president of Samyang Holdings in Dec. 2023. He now oversees group strategy, handling new businesses and growth strategy from the forefront of management, and is cited as a next-generation leader to head the fourth-generation owner system.
Chairman Kim Yun's second son, Dr. Kim Nam-ho, is taking a different route. Born in 1986, Kim majored in bioengineering at Lehigh, earned a master's in biomedical engineering at Purdue and a Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Johns Hopkins.
After researching gene therapies as a KIST researcher, he gained life sciences consulting experience at McKinsey and BCG. He then worked at the biotech venture investment firm Averin and joined Flagship Pioneering in July this year as Korea managing director. He is responsible for identifying collaboration opportunities with domestic biotech companies and investment institutions and for Korea business strategy.
While the elder son is broadening his footing on the management track, the younger son is building external experience in biotech.
Samyang Biopharm is currently managed by professional manager CEO Kim Kyung-jin. A research and development expert who served as a senior researcher at Roche's R&D center and as CEO of ST Pharm, Kim is leading new drug development and commercialization.
◇ Investing in SENS…a make-or-break for new drug development
Samyang Biopharm's mid- to long-term growth engine is SENS (Selectivity Enabling Nano Shell), a gene therapy drug delivery platform it developed in-house. SENS is a "drug carrier" technology that selectively delivers various nucleic acid substances used in gene therapies to target organs and cells.
The company plans to use SENS for its own new drug development while commercializing it through joint research and technology transfer with global pharmaceutical companies and biotechs.
Key pipelines include the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug candidate "SYP-2590," the cystic fibrosis drug candidate "SYP-2137" and the triple-negative breast cancer drug candidate "SYP-2135." The company said it discussed collaborations with about 40 global pharmaceutical companies and biotechs at this year's Bio USA based on SENS.
However, until business results such as clinical entry and technology transfer materialize in earnest, it must maintain the profitability of its existing medical device and pharmaceutical businesses while continuing research and development investment.
The company is also expanding its research and production infrastructure. It is building a clinical GMP production facility in Daejeon for gene therapy drug-delivery formulation and aims to complete it in the third quarter of 2027.
Earlier, Samyang Biopharm presented a mid- to long-term goal of "400 billion won in sales by 2030." The plan is to advance its business structure by growing the new drug and platform businesses while continuing growth in its existing medical device business.
Analysis suggests Samyang Biopharm's corporate value hinges on how quickly it can link the stable profitability of its existing businesses with the commercialization results of SENS.
Oh Byung-yong, an analyst at Hanyang Securities, said, "Samyang Biopharm is the No. 1 company in the world in surgical suture yarns and has fundamentals for stable earnings growth," adding, "If SENS leads to partnerships with global gene therapy companies, its corporate value could take a step up."