© CGbio

Now it’s time to take a look at a Korean business bringing about changes in the global economy with some new ideas. 

Continuing our focus from last week, we’ll introduce you to company that drew special attention at the Korea Tech Show 2018, a showcase of industrial R&D and technology. The company we’re talking about today is CG Bio, a medical equipment provider. Let’s hear from company CEO Yoo Hyun-seung(유현승).  

I started researching artificial bones 20 years ago and identified them as marketable product. As a medical equipment provider, our company has now expanded into artificial skin and tissue regeneration. There is growing demand for regenerating damaged tissues as life expectancy increases in this aging society.

CG Bio holds the highest market share in Korea, and it has been exploring global markets since last year. The stent products displayed here will serve as a future growth engine for the company. We’ve been conducting research and development over the past six years with a goal of releasing brain stents next year and coronary stents in two years.

Mr. Yoo earned his PhD in materials science and engineering at Seoul National University. While in graduate school, he developed a manufacturing technique for artificial bones. Despite his professors calls to join them as a scholar, Yoo chose to start his own company. He wanted to focus on industrial development of artificial bone technology that at the time was found only in textbooks.

Yoo established CG Bio in 2006. The company successfully commercialized artificial bones for the first time in Korea, boasting the largest share in the domestic artificial bone market. 

Researchers of the company figured out how to synthesize the components of human bones and manufactured artificial bone products to be used in a range of bone grafts and surgeries. They also developed Korea’s first bone graft containing the bone morphogenetic protein-2. The bone graft spurs bone growth and helps bones knit together quickly. In this way, the company has been able to sharpen its competitiveness to fit market trends. 

But what the company showcased at the recent Korea Tech Show were not artificial bones but instead various stents for the brain, gastrointestinal system, and coronary system. CG Bio’s brain stent is the first domestically manufactured stent of its kind.

A brain stent should be expandable and durable at the same time. In general, something expandable tends to be frail, while something durable tends to be inflexible. Expandability is essential for a brain stent, which is inserted into the narrow blood vessels of the brain. But the stent should also be strong enough to protect the inner space of the blood vessels. Expandability and durability are inversely related, but we’ve developed a hybrid structure that combines the two.After using our brain stent for clinical testing, the Asan Medical Center in Seoul were very positive. Medical staff there said that the new brain stent is a lot more convenient than similar products and that they had never really expected a domestic company to develop such an innovative design. 

A stent is a tiny tube made of wire mesh designed to be placed into a blocked blood vessel in order to keep it open. A blocked blood artery can be expanded after surgery, but the blood vessel might narrow again. A stent is inserted into the blood vessel to prevent the inner space from being squeezed shut again and keep blood flow strong. 

But it was not easy to develop a brain stent. Compared to coronary arteries, brain arteries are more delicate and winding, and are prone to rupture during surgical procedures. To resolve this problem, CG Bio applied a special coating to the surface of the stent to reduce blood flow pressure.

It took five years of testing to perfect the brain stent. In clinical trials, it was highly praised for its ease-of-use and greater safety compared to existing products. Behind this success lies the company’s significant research and development.

50 people, or about 30 percent of our 180 employees, are researchers, and we direct some 14 percent sales revenue into R&D. This year, our sales are estimated to reach 52 billion won. Of that, we’ll allocate 6.5 billion won to R&D. This is of course in addition to government research funding.

CG Bio has obtained some 120 patents and is responsible for hundreds of research papers. This is thanks to our team that carries out both academic research and clinical trials, something few if any medical equipment providers can or are willing to do.

CG Bio is working to develop next-generation stents, such as a stent that would completely biodegrade within blood vessels to become part of them without any side effects as well as a stent designed to remove blood clots in the brain. Now, the company is targeting overseas markets with some natively developed bio-products.

© CGbio

Now that we have taken root in the domestic market, we’ve chosen six of our most promising products out of 70 items to take on the global market. We’re now promoting those six products, and we’re confident that they will prove globally competitive and produce tangible results. 

We’ve explored Asian markets such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. This year, we’ve been focusing on the U.S., Japan and Australia, and I’m sure we will be able to produce results in the countries from next year. We really hope to expand our presence in those large, advanced markets.

CG Bio advanced into the U.S. market as early as 2013, when it inked a large-scale contract to export its bone graft materials. It was a remarkable feat, considering the U.S. has an ultra-competitive bio sector. 

As a result, the company’s exports in 2015 amounted to 1 million US dollars. On the back of its experiences and technological prowess, the firm has explored markets all around the world. It is far from easy for a Korean bio firm to distinguish itself in the global bio healthcare industry, which is growing fast to prepare for a new era of centenarians. But CG Bio has been moving forward, pinning its hope on the future. It will continue to nurture hope that Korean bio companies can be increasingly competitive overseas.

As the global population is aging rapidly, human organs or tissues could be replaced with new ones in the future, just as we change old components. So I see great potential in this field. Various industries and academic communities are paying attention to this area, where many talented people are involved. If our company builds a solid foundation, many more promising, young people will be motivated to develop the medical equipment industry. 

I think the level of bioscience in Korea is quite high. We hope to set an example of making the most of it for commercial use and global success.

It is challenging to break new ground in a particular area. But once a new industry is established, it is easier to follow. CG Bio continues to take up new challenges with a firm determination to open the way for Korea’s bio industry. The company could be likened to a great explorer discovering a new continent in the bio industry.