[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Korea Investment & Securities raised its target price for Pharma Research from 330,000 KRW to 380,000 KRW, a 15% increase, citing the company's expanding presence in advanced markets and rapidly growing Total Addressable Market (TAM).
The firm explained that the company's growth potential has expanded significantly due to TAM expansion, leading to an upward adjustment in its target Price-to-Earnings ratio (PER) to 30x. The earnings forecast also reflects a conservative projection of sales in Europe, the US, and EBD, leaving room for further upward adjustments.
The global market for fillers and skin boosters (biostimulators) is estimated at over 6 trillion KRW, with the US and Europe accounting for over 30% and 25% of the market, respectively. Pharma Research is set to officially enter these key markets with the launch of "Rejuran" in major European countries and enhanced marketing efforts targeting the Med Spa industry in the US.
Korea Investment & Securities also pointed out positive trends in the skin booster market, noting that Galderma's Sculptra saw a 22% growth in sales last year, while Restylane (filler) experienced a slight decline. This highlights the differentiated growth of skin boosters within injectable aesthetics.
The high return on investment (ROI) from Rejuran also favors market penetration, as the export price of Rejuran is similar to its domestic price, yet treatment costs abroad can be 2 to 4 times higher than in Korea. Despite the higher costs for consumers abroad, Rejuran still offers significant profit margins for practitioners, making it favorable for market expansion.
The appointment of Son Ji-hoon, former CEO of Hugel, as the new CEO also boosts expectations for global expansion. The report highlighted that about 15-20% of Rejuran's domestic sales come from foreign visitors, with customer nationalities now diversifying beyond Chinese tourists to include Japanese and Southeast Asian clients.
Additionally, foreign medical consumption in Korea grew 2.1 times last year, with spending on dermatology rising sharply from 11% in 2022 to 22% in 2023 and projected to reach 49% in 2024.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
