[비즈한국] Daewoong003090 announced on the 12th that it will acquire a 15% stake in U2Bio227700 to become its second-largest shareholder by investing 564,745 shares of treasury stock worth 12.1 billion won as an in-kind contribution. The industry is paying close attention to the fact that Daewoong Pharmaceutical06620, which has been evaluated as lacking software to connect various digital healthcare devices to hospitals, has chosen U2Bio—where former CEO Lee Jae-woong, founder of Daum and Socar, is the largest shareholder—as its partner.
The Final Puzzle in Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Digital Healthcare Expansion
Daewoong's move to become the second-largest shareholder of U2Bio is interpreted as a will to complete the value chain for its digital healthcare business, a sector it has been staking its future on.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical has recently been accelerating market penetration by successively launching products such as 'Thync,' an EEG and nervous system signal analysis device, and 'Cart BP,' a ring-type 24-hour continuous blood pressure monitor from Sky Labs. In addition, Daewoong Pharmaceutical also holds domestic rights for the patch-type ECG monitor 'Mobicare' developed by Seers Technology, Abbott's 24-hour continuous glucose monitor 'FreeStyle Libre,' and 'Wiski,' an AI-based diagnostic support solution for blindness-related diseases by Ark. Last year, Daewoong Pharmaceutical's digital healthcare business revenue reached 36.3 billion won in the first to third quarters, a sharp 57.2% increase compared to the same period the previous year, showing steep growth.
U2Bio is considered the optimal partner to fill the void of a platform, which is a limitation of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's hardware-centric business structure. U2Bio possesses 'U2Check,' an IT solution linked to the electronic medical records (EMR) of over 2,500 hospitals and clinics. It is expected to act as a bridge that converts fragmented signals from Daewoong Pharmaceutical's digital healthcare devices into medical data that doctors can immediately utilize in clinical practice.
Data Business Pioneer Lee Jae-woong as Largest Shareholder
U2Bio caught the industry's attention last November when its largest shareholder changed from Nongshim004370 to former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong. Former CEO Lee, who is also the founder of the portal site Daum, is considered a pioneer of the data business as part of the first generation of venture entrepreneurs.
At Socar, Lee successfully built a business model that utilized user driving data for insurance premium calculation and vehicle management. Industry experts anticipate that Lee will utilize the blood and examination data held by U2Bio to create new business models.
Furthermore, given his experience in real-time connecting vehicles scattered across the country with people looking to use them through a single Socar app, there is anticipation that he will work on building a B2C healthcare platform that connects patients with the infrastructure of over 2,500 hospitals, clinics, and testing centers that U2Bio possesses.
Quantum Jump Through Nongshim's Credit and IT Infrastructure
The current U2Bio has leveled up thanks to Nongshim. In October 2018, Nongshim Data System (NDS), an IT subsidiary of Nongshim Group, acquired a stake in U2Bio through off-exchange purchases and became the largest shareholder in July 2021 as a strategic investor (SI). At the time, U2Bio was pursuing a transfer from the KONEX to the KOSDAQ market, and Nongshim Group becoming the largest shareholder served as a guarantee of trust in the market.
In addition, the IT infrastructure held by NDS contributed to U2Bio's growth. With technical support from NDS, U2Bio's services were integrated with hospital EMRs nationwide without conflict, leading to stable service operations.
A representative from Daewoong Pharmaceutical stated, "We will discuss plans for digital healthcare business cooperation with U2Bio."