South Korea’s HK inno.N Corp., a latecomer in the domestic infusion therapy market, will accelerate its efforts for market penetration with the goal of achieving the largest sales of infusion products in 2025.

The company sees that its infusion business is on track for growth as its new plant in Osong, south of Seoul, has been in full operation for more than a year. By expanding its infusion fluid production lines and strengthening its premium fluid lineup, the company is aiming to overtake JW Pharmaceutical Co., a long-time powerhouse in the market, to become the No. 1 player.

According to multiple sources from the industry on Thursday, HK inno.N has an annual sales target of 180 billion won ($138.6 million) for fluids in 2025. The company says that such a target has been set on the assumption that the new Osong plant, which began full operations in June last year, together with the existing Daeso plant, will be operated at full capacity.

This aggressive target to increase sales by more than 70 percent in three years comes as infusion fluid sales reached 101.1 billion won last year.

“Every year, our sales of infusions have been growing at around 10 percent year-on-year,” said an unnamed official from HK inno.N. “We are making preemptive investments on belief that the market for infusions will expand in the long term as we enter an aging society.”

HK inno.N has been steadily expanding its lineup of low-dose products and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to expand business. The utilization rate of Osong plant exceeded 50 percent as of the end of March, up from 20 percent at the end of last year.

The company also plans to expand its production line for low-dose fluids, including 50 milliliter doses. At Daeso plant, which has been mainly producing simple fluids, a TPN line will be added and begin full operations in the third quarter. In particular, IN-C006, an improved new total nutrient solution that recently completed clinical trials, is under preparation to gain approval and is expected to contribute to earnings when sales begin later this year.

Currently, JW Pharmaceutical is leading the domestic infusion market, accounting for half of the total market share, followed by Dai Han Pharm Co. and HK inno.N that take up 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

JW Pharmaceutical is overhauling its business in response to the rising competition from latecomers. In October last year, JW Life Science Corp., which produces infusion fluids for JW Pharmaceutical, completed the expansion of a new production facility for TPN at its Dangjin plant and began operations. As a result, the TPN production capacity of JW Life Science has increased by 37 percent. “Competition is likely to become more intense as the infusion market is, in the short term, expected to grow faster from this year with Covid-19 shifting to endemic, coupled with long-term growth potential,” said an unnamed industry official.

By Kim Jee-hee and Choi Jieun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]