Pangen Biotech

Pangen was founded in 1999, listed on KOSDAQ in 2016, and became part of Huons Group in 2024 as a specialized biopharmaceutical company.

Its core business consists of sales of the erythropoietin (EPO) biosimilar Panpotin, used to treat anemia in chronic kidney disease patients, and biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO).

Panpotin has obtained marketing approval in eight countries including Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Thailand, Brunei and Myanmar, is actually sold in six of them, and the company plans to expand exports further into Taiwan, Paraguay, Iraq and the Middle East, Africa and South America.

The CDMO segment secures revenue through intra-group collaboration, including production orders for human-derived hyaluronidase raw material from Huons Group affiliate Huons Lab.

In addition, using its own CHO-TECH cell line technology, Pangen is developing seven antibody biosimilars, including ipilimumab (Yervoy), guselkumab (Tremfya), romosozumab (Evenity), pembrolizumab (Keytruda), benralizumab (Fasenra), risankizumab (Skyrizi) and mepolizumab (Nucala), with three targeted for process development completion within the year.

In 2019 Pangen entered into an agreement with Samchundang Pharm to develop the cell line and process for a biosimilar of aflibercept (Eylea), a treatment for age-related macular degeneration, and holds a royalty structure tied to domestic and overseas sales, with royalties typically around 3 percent domestically and a combination of upfront payments and royalties overseas.

More recently, the company won a research services contract from the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to advance a non-clinical production system for an SFTS therapeutic antibody, expanding its research scope from biosimilars and CDMO into infectious disease antibody therapeutics.

Competitively, rather than directly rivaling large biosimilar makers such as Celltrion or Samsung Bioepis, Pangen positions itself as a smaller, specialized player focused on niche areas such as EPO finished-product exports to emerging markets and contract development services for affiliates and partners.

Pangen's consolidated revenue was KRW 6.5 billion in 2022 and KRW 7.32 billion in 2023, a low-growth period during which operating margins were deeply negative at -70.6% and -57.8%, respectively.

In 2024, revenue rose to KRW 14.67 billion and the operating margin turned positive at 7.0%, and in 2025, despite revenue slipping slightly to KRW 13.42 billion, the operating margin improved to 11.2%, with operating profit of KRW 1.51 billion and owners' net income of KRW 2.05 billion, marking a clear earnings recovery.

Quarterly results, however, show substantial swings.

After 2Q25 revenue of KRW 3.49 billion with operating profit of KRW 833 million (net income KRW 885 million), 3Q25 revenue rose to KRW 4.01 billion but operating profit fell to KRW 377 million, and 4Q25 revenue dropped sharply to KRW 2.48 billion, flipping to an operating loss of KRW 404 million and a net loss of KRW 102 million.

In 1Q26, the company returned to profit with revenue of KRW 3.73 billion, operating profit of KRW 482 million and net income of KRW 751 million, but in 2Q26, despite revenue rising to KRW 3.96 billion, it swung back to an operating loss of KRW 220 million and a net loss of KRW 48 million.

These quarterly fluctuations appear to reflect a combination of seasonal variation in CDMO revenue, rising R&D spending on new biosimilars, and facility investment aimed at entering advanced markets.

Periods in which net income exceeded operating profit, such as 2Q25 and 1Q26, appear to reflect contributions from non-operating items, though the specific details would require further confirmation.

The debt ratio rose from 20.1% in 2022 to 65.1% in 2023 before falling to 22.6% in 2024 and 9.3% in 2025, indicating an improving trend in financial stability as well.

The domestic EPO anemia treatment market is estimated at roughly KRW 100 billion, a mature market in which first-generation products hold over 50% share.

Pangen focuses on exporting its own-brand finished EPO products in this market, having expanded distribution centered on ASEAN and the Middle East, with EPO revenue posting a three-year compound annual growth rate of 28.6%, making it the company's core growth driver.

The global biosimilar industry is entering a phase of sequential patent expirations for large biologics such as Keytruda, Skyrizi and Nucala, sustaining demand for follow-on biosimilar development and, in turn, for CDMO services that handle cell line and process development on behalf of clients.

However, large biosimilar makers such as Celltrion and Samsung Bioepis have already secured positions in advanced markets like Europe and the United States, leaving smaller players like Pangen to differentiate through emerging-market exports and specialized contract development services.

EU GMP certification is considered a prerequisite for entering the European market, and Pangen has begun the process toward that certification.

Meanwhile, as Samchundang Pharm's Eylea biosimilar has expanded overseas sales, market attention has turned to Pangen's royalty entitlement from having developed the underlying cell line and process, an issue that coincided with sharp share price moves for Pangen.

The company has stated its intention to strengthen overseas marketing for its EPO biosimilar and develop new distribution channels to sustain revenue growth in the second half.

Specifically, on top of its current base of eight country registrations and sales in six, it plans to register in roughly four additional countries, and sales of finished EPO product through Turkish partner Bemsa are expected to become full-scale within the year.

The EU GMP certification process for entering the European market has also begun this year, and completion of that certification could serve as a foothold for entry into advanced markets.

On the pipeline side, the company is targeting completion of cell line and production process development this year for three antibody biosimilars — corresponding to Yervoy, Tremfya and Evenity — with the remaining four to be developed in sequence.

In the CDMO segment, the company has set a goal of continuing to pursue new contracts, though results through 2Q26 showed a seasonal decline in CDMO revenue, so the actual timing and scale of any new contracts warrants confirmation.

In addition, the SFTS therapeutic antibody research services contract signed with the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (June 2026 to December 2028, totaling KRW 2.745 billion) is structured with annual payments of KRW 1.082 billion in year one, KRW 1.082 billion in year two and KRW 582 million in year three, positioning it as a source of stable research services revenue over the next several years.