Huons takes over Chung Ho Natural to add dietary supplement business to its portfolio

[Sal Sarazine]

South Korea’s pharmaceutical company Huons Co. took over local dietary supplement maker Chung Ho Natural, a move that is expected to help the pharmaceutical company make forays into the dietary supplement market. Huons did not disclose how much it has paid to acquire Chung Ho Natural.

Huons CEO Chun Jae-gap said in a signing ceremony on Tuesday that the takeover should lay a firm foundation for the company’s entry into the dietary supplement market. The company currently produces and sells pharmaceutical and functional supplementary products (beauty supplements), and it raised 245 billion won ($205.8 million) in sales in 2015, up 34.4 percent from a year earlier and doubling from 116.4 billion won in 2011.

Huons has been famed for beauty supplements such as hyaluronic acid filler Elavie, weight-loss drug Aloon and herbal constipation medicine Sal Sarazine that are popular not only in Korea but also in China. Recently it signed a cross-licensing agreement with its subsidiary Humedix Co. and received approval for an investigational new drug (IND) application for a Phase 3 clinical trial with its osteoarthritis treatment drug from Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Chung Ho Natural that mainly manufactures dietary supplements derived from botanicals and herbs posted an operating profit of 310 million won on sales of 4.6 billion won last year. It has received Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Its main products are premium rice, berry juice and red ginseng. It supplies its products to Korean companies such as CJ O Shopping Co. and Green Cross Health Care Systems.

Huons completed splitting the company into holding company Huons Global and operating company Huons last month. Stocks of the two entities will be relisted in Korea Exchange (KRX) on June 3.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]