Dongkook Lifescience delays North American entry, charts global expansion with IPO

At first glance, it seems counterintuitive. Dongkook Lifescience, a subsidiary of Dongkook Pharmaceutical specializing in imaging contrast mediums, is holding off on entering North America—anticipated to be the world’s largest and most lucrative market for contrast media.

For a company with global ambitions, the decision to bypass the industry’s biggest stage raised eyebrows when CEO Park Jae-won made this admission during an IPO press conference on Friday. 

Yet, as Park explained, the stakes are too high to gamble on a premature entry.

“The reality of Korea’s pharmaceutical industry is that very few companies export domestically developed finished products to North America,” Park said. The hurdles, he noted, are significant. Maintaining facilities that meet the exacting standards of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) demands an annual investment exceeding 10 billion won ($7 billion). “For Dongkook Lifescience, the cost-effectiveness of such an endeavor doesn’t add up—at least not yet.”

Instead, Dongkook Lifescience is charting a more calculated course, targeting regions where its strengths can yield maximum impact with fewer barriers to entry. “We need to grow where conditions allow us to build strength,” Park said, hinting at a broader plan to expand globally before tackling North America.

Since its founding in 2017, Dongkook Lifescience has become a leader in the Korean market for contrast media—the compounds used to improve diagnostic imaging in procedures like CT and MRI scans. The company supplies major general and tertiary hospitals across Korea and has built a strong domestic presence. Now, it is turning outward.

Currently exporting to 25 countries, Dongkook plans to dramatically increase its export share from 8 percent last year to nearly 95 percent by 2028, expanding its reach to 34 additional countries. The company has already secured regulatory approvals in key markets, including Japan, India, Russia, and Thailand.

Park outlined ambitious plans to expand into Europe, the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)—regions where regulatory hurdles, while present, are less daunting than those in North America. By 2030, Dongkook aims to generate 300 billion won in revenue with a 20 percent operating margin, a goal supported by its planned Kosdaq listing and aggressive international expansion.

Much of this confidence stems from Dongkook’s next-generation products. In collaboration with Inventera Technologies, a Korean biotech firm, the company is developing iron oxide nanoparticle MRI contrast agents that Park believes could reshape the global market. INV001 and INV002, designed for the lymphatic system and musculoskeletal imaging respectively, are advancing through clinical trials, with INV001 moving to phase 2 trials and INV002 nearing phase 3.

Together, these innovations could tap into markets projected to reach a combined value of 20 trillion won by 2030, according to Inventera. “Our North American strategy hinges on the commercialization of these products,” Park explained. The company aims to enter the U.S. with a bundled approach, using its advanced agents to create a compelling foothold. Until then, Dongkook is focusing on regions like the CIS, the Middle East, and Africa—promising markets that come with their own set of challenges.

“Take Brazil, for example,” Park said, noting that while the country holds enormous potential, its regulatory framework rivals that of the U.S., requiring local production as a prerequisite for market entry. “We must enter the Brazilian market,” Park acknowledged, “but the process there is very lengthy.”

Similarly, the Middle East and CIS regions, though lucrative, involve navigating sanctions, complex approval processes, and political uncertainty. Still, Park said he expects to complete registrations in key countries such as Iran and Turkey by the end of 2026, identifying them as critical markets despite sanctions in some regions.

To support its expansion, Dongkook has been scaling its production capabilities. Last year, the company’s facilities hit full capacity, prompting investments in new production lines for smaller-volume contrast agents. It has also begun manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in-house, reducing its reliance on imports from countries like China and India. This shift, Park emphasized, is not just about cutting costs but also about securing a stable supply of high-quality medicines for both domestic and international markets.

The company’s planned Kosdaq listing in February will play a critical role in this vision. Dongkook plans to issue 2 million shares at a price range of 12,600 to 14,300 won, with an estimated total IPO value of up to 28.6 billion won. The funds will be directed toward enhancing production infrastructure and R&D capabilities.

The demand forecast for the listing began Monday and concludes Friday, with public subscriptions scheduled for Feb. 5 and 6. The listing date is set for Feb. 17, with NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities serving as underwriters.