Chong Kun Dang Group held a ceremony to kick off the 2026 business year at Chong Kun Dang headquarters in Chungjeongro, Seoul, on Jan. 5.
In his New Year’s message, Chong Kun Dang Group Chmn. Lee Jang-han said, “We have to pledge our determination to spearhead the future and complete solid management for sustainable growth, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of our founding this year.”
Chmn. Lee said, “At the turning point of fully applying AI to the whole industry, corporate competition to understand and use AI is getting more important, and we have to accelerate new drug development by curtailing processes ranging from exploring of candidate substances to clinical stages through AI convergence technologies.”
Chmn. Lee asked for the building of a virtuous growth cycle structure in which revenues created via AI could lead to R&D investments, and then connectivity in revenues again.
A researcher with Chong Kun Dang Hyojong Research Institute analyzes the structure of a new drug candidate substance.
Chong Kun Dang Tries to Secure Mid- and Long-term Growth Competitiveness by Expanding R&D and Achieving Global Clinical Advances
Chong Kun Dang has clarified the direction of growth as the group is ramping new drug development-oriented strategies, despite short-term business performance pressure.
The group is trying to accelerate efforts to secure mid- and growth competitiveness by expanding R&D investments and achieving global clinical advances.
In a public electronic disclosure issued on Feb. 11, Chong Kun Dang said it posted 1,692.4 billion won last year, a 6.7 percent year-on-year rise on a consolidated basis.
The group saw its 2025 operating profit declining 19 percent year-on-year to 80.6 billion won and net profit plunging 30.2 percent year-on-year to 77.8 billion won.
A Chong Kun Dang official said, “A rise in sales was owed to the even growth of both conventional items, such as Fexuclue and Godex and newly released products, such as Neulapeg and Wegovy, and 2026 operating profit showed a decline due to rising R&D investments.”
Chong Kun Dang is concentrating its capabilities on investing R&D and production infrastructure.
Kyongbo Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Chong Kun Dang, has increased to 96 billion won its investment into an antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) production plant now under construction in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do.
The spending accounts for 66.49 percent of the company’s owner’s capital.
Earlier, the group established an ADC research center producing preclinical research samples in Giheung, Yongin, as part of efforts to build a one-stop contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) regime ranging from a preclinical stage to the clinical and commercialization stages.
Chong Kun Dang is achieving tangible advances in new drug pipelines.
In January, the group said Dupixent Biosimilar CKD-706 got the go-ahead for a phase 1 clinical trial from the European Medicines Aency and British regulatory authorities.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said Chong Kun Dang’s ADC-based anticancer new drug candidate substance, CKD-703, got the go-ahead on its 1/2a phase clinical trial.
The drug is considered to be Chong Kun Dang’s first ADC-based anticancer new drug candidate substance being developed though global ADC platform technology convergence.
A Chong Kun Dang official said, “We plan to accelerate clinical trials now under way by concentrating our capabilities on developing new drugs for 2026.”
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