Better than Expected
The Life Science Division of LG Chem is expected to rack up 1.2 trillion won (US$915 million) in sales this year backed by the growth of the Chronic Disease Department and the Special Disease Department.
The Life Science Division’s sales for 2022 are estimated at 910 billion won (US$694 million) on a provisional basis. They grew by about 19.7 percent compared to the previous year’s sales of about 760 billion won (US$579 million).
LG Chem’s sales were driven by the Chronic Disease Division and the Special Disease Division. The Chronic Disease Division manufactures and sells medicines for diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular, autoimmune, and musculoskeletal disorders. The Special Disease Division focuses on growth hormones, vaccines, and infertility treatments. The two’s sales stood at 400 billion won (US$304 million) each, accounting for about 88 percent of the Life Science Division’s total sales.
The flagship product of the Chronic Disease Division is Zemiglo (ingredient name: gemigliptin tartrate), a diabetes drug. The drug’s annual outpatient prescription amount, which can determine the size of Zemiglo’s annual sales, reached about 130 billion won (US$99 million) in 2022.
The growth of the Special Disease Division was led by growth hormone drugs and vaccines. The flagship product of the Special Disease Division is growth hormone drug Utrophin (ingredient name: somatropin). Utrophin is a steady seller, marking its 30th anniversary this year. Domestic sales of Utrophin exceeded 100 billion won (US$76 million) in 2022. In addition, the division’s polio vaccine Eupolio has been recognized worldwide for its strong brand power such as signing a supply contract worth 104.3 billion won (US$80 million) with UNICEF in 2021. It is supplied to more than 40 countries around the world, mainly in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Encouraged by the growth of the two business divisions, LG Chem set an annual sales target of 1.2 trillion won (US$914 million) for 2023. This is thanks to the elevated market positions of major products such as Zemiglo and Utropin, and the launch of new products such as Zelenka.