“Will Gelfos Have an Efficacy If We Have It in Space or on the Moon?”

Boryung, a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, has been showing an impressive growth record in the industry, posting the record sales and operating profit last year. 

In particular, the hypertension drug 'Kanarb family' has been a reliable revenue generator, boasting the largest sales among domestic prescription drugs.

Boryung’s main goal is to develop new drugs, but is now entering the aerospace industry, which attracts attention to its next move.

According to Boryung on March 22, it has established a joint venture with U.S. commercial space station construction company Axiom Space. Detailed terms of the joint venture will be discussed and finalized in the future.

The company explained its first goal is to secure technologies essential to human survival in space.

Thus far, Boryung has been developing its space business, including investing in Axiom Space last year and organizing a CIS challenge to get ideas for space healthcare research.

At the general shareholders' meeting held on March 21, Boryung’s CEO Mr. Kim Jung Gyun said that he honestly did not know when it would be profitable or how big it would become but emphasized that the probability of success is high because Axiom is carrying out the project that has been already conducted for some time now. 

Then he added, "The main target is to acquire technologies that are essential for human survival in space and to secure the infrastructure for the relevant research and development.“

Mr. Kim also said, "Finding the answer to the question of whether ingesting Gelfos on the moon will still help soothing heartburn was the main reason that we have entered the aerospace industry. We will invest anytime if it is to fulfill our purpose in human health.“

Meanwhile, Boryung posted 760.5 billion won in sales revenue and 56.6 billion won in operating profit on a consolidated basis last year. These represent 21% and 37% year-on-year growth, respectively.

Year-to-date results were 721.2 billion won in sales revenue and 60.3 billion won in operating profit.

[WIKI KOREA=Cho Pil Hyun, Staff Reporter]