Finmedix CEO Targets 50% Overseas Sales Growth with Japan Office Launch

Finmedix (387570.KQ), the first Korean company to successfully localize gastrointestinal endoscopic instruments in a domestic medical device market long dominated by foreign products, is celebrating its first anniversary on the KOSDAQ market.

"The past year was a period of building the foundation for overseas market expansion. Next year, we will open Finmedix's first overseas sales office in Japan to accelerate our local market push," CEO Jeon Sung-woo said in an interview with Seoul Economic Daily on Tuesday.

"Over the past year, external variables such as U.S. Food and Drug Administration workforce reductions and European medical device regulation transitions made overseas expansion challenging," Jeon said. "However, we have completed preparations to focus on five major countries: the United States, Japan, China, Germany and Brazil."

Jeon is a physician-turned-CEO who currently serves as a gastroenterology professor at Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital. "Korea's endoscopic surgery techniques are excellent, but I was always troubled by the reality that we relied entirely on imports for even simple endoscopic injection needles," he said.

He went through countless trials and errors, even visiting automobile companies to secure components such as tubes needed for manufacturing surgical instruments, and ultimately succeeded in developing them independently.

Jeon's background as a physician-CEO serves as Finmedix's differentiated competitive advantage, enabling rapid incorporation of clinical ideas and feedback into product development. "I started this business with the mindset of 'I wish this product existed,' so I strive to develop products that fit clinical settings," he said.

The "ClearCut Knife H-type," developed by Finmedix as a world first for removing early-stage gastrointestinal cancers and lesions, also originated from a fellow physician's idea. The device enables two procedures simultaneously without instrument changes, significantly reducing procedure time and costs.

Jeon is determined to make next year the year to fully showcase these competitive strengths in global markets. The recent creation of a chief marketing officer position is part of this strategy. Currently, the company supplies products to 45 companies across 51 countries, including 22 European nations, the United States and Asia.

"In the mid-to-long term, we aim to achieve 3 to 5 billion won in sales for each strategic country, increasing overseas sales by more than 50% next year compared to this year," Jeon said. "Next year, one-third of total sales will come from overseas."

Japan market entry will serve as the signal for full-scale global expansion. Japan is the "home country of endoscopy," with global endoscope market leaders such as Olympus and Fujifilm. The company plans to open a Japan sales office in the first half of next year, followed by establishing a local subsidiary in Japan by 2027.

"Medical professionals from around the world gather in Japan to learn endoscopic techniques, making it advantageous for building a global network," Jeon said.

The company will also strengthen local sales functions at its Yancheng, China factory. Earlier this year, Finmedix began collaborating with Sonoscape, China's top endoscope equipment company.

"When distributing Sonoscape's products in Korea, we are generating synergy by selling Finmedix products as a package," Jeon said. "We are also discussing similar cooperation plans not only for sales in China but also in Europe and South America."

Finmedix will focus on research and development of high-value-added products going forward. The company's R&D spending as a percentage of sales has steadily increased from 5.04% in 2023 to 5.57% in 2024 and 6.55% as of the third quarter of this year.

"We will demonstrate the company's technological capabilities through premium products that maximize user convenience," Jeon said.