Korean biotech companies are stepping up efforts to enter the global market of polydioxanone (PDO) threads used to lift sagging skin tissues, according to industry sources on Monday.
PDO threads, used for PDO thread lifting, are naturally dissolved in the human body. PDO threads are widely used for various reasons, such as closure and facial lifting in the aesthetic market, but only a few companies with advanced technologies can manufacture them. Thus, the products offer a strong potential for growth and marketability.
Recently, Hugel took a bold move to accelerate its cosmetic threads business. On Tuesday, the company acquired an 80 percent stake in Jworld, a manufacturer of cosmetic medical devices, to export PDO threads.
Jworld has been selling PDO threads overseas since last year. The company is shipping the material to Japan and Indonesia. After obtaining CE certification in Europe in 2019, the company is preparing to enter China, South America, Southeast Asia, and Russia.
Hugel said its sales networks and Jworld’s technology would drive up exports of PDO threads.
The acquisition of Jworld will give Hugel an advantage to manufacture and sell three key products in the cosmetic market – hyaluronic acid (HA) filler, botulinum toxin (BTX), and PDO threads. As the three products are used complementarily in cosmetic and plastic surgery, the three will help boost their brand names and credibility, Hugel said.
Hugel also aims to take a cross-selling strategy on its HA filler, the Chaeum, and Jworld’s PDO threads. Earlier in June, the company submitted a biologics license application (BLA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to approve its BTX. The company said it was expecting synergy effects among the three in the European market.
Samyang Biopharmaceuticals Corp., which launched the aesthetic tread brand Croquis last year, recently said at an international aesthetic conference that it would boost export of PDO threads.
Samyang Biopharmaceuticals emphasizes its data-oriented and evidence-based marketing to overcome disadvantages as a latecomer in the aesthetic threads market.
The company hopes to earn trust in the global market by presenting research outcomes.
The company is trying to secure data on its thread’s physical properties, such as strength and elasticity, to produce optimal effects for each part of the face.
Samyang Biopharmaceuticals is conducting a trial with dermatologists and plastic surgeons in the U.S. and France to check if Croquis-using non-fixed lifting therapy can produce better results compared to conventional fixed lifting procedure.
The company disclosed the overseas case study's interim results on Croquis at the Aesthetic and Anti-aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC) 2020, held in Monaco from Thursday to Saturday.
Based on the interim results, Samyang Biopharmaceuticals predicted that the non-fixed lifting procedure using Croqui would replace the fixed procedure. While the fixed procedure has high lifting retention, it can cause bleeding and pain and takes a long time to recover. The company said it would announce the final results of the study in January next year.
In June last year, Samyang Biopharmaceuticals clinched a deal with Amico, a medical device maker in the Middle East, to sell Croquis in 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa from March 2021. Amico runs production facilities in six regions in the U.S. and Canada.
In July, the company announced that it would construct a production base spanning up to 100,000 km for biodegradable surgical sutures in Hungary. For the project, the company plans to invest about 35 billion won ($33.3 million) by 2024 and start operating the plant in 2022.
“We produced Croquis through strict quality control. Although it is used for non-fixed procedures, it is showing strong efficacy and safety,” an official at Samyang Biopharmaceuticals said.
“Through the ongoing case study, we will secure data on the physical properties of the tread to obtain the optimal effect for each facial area, prove its effect and announce it through various global conferences.”