Hong Kong, February 11, 2021- Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd. (the "Company" or "Sihuan Pharmaceutical", together with its subsidiaries, collectively referred to as the "Group"; Hong Kong Stock Exchange stock code: 0460) is pleased to announce that Letybo® 50U (Type A Botulinum Toxin for Injection, product name: Letybo®), a product exclusively distributed by the Company and produced by a Korean biopharmaceutical company, Hugel, Inc., has been officially approved for launch in the market by the National Medical Products Administration of the People’s Republic of China on 10 February 2021, and which will together with the Letybo®100U previously approved for launch on 21 October 2020, to provide users in the China with shape beauty options. Letybo® is the fourth type A botulinum toxin approved for launch in the market of the China and the first of its kind in Korea.
Letybo® was developed by Hugel, a Korean biopharmaceutical company, and commands the largest market share among the botulinum toxin products in Korea. Meanwhile, Hugel is Asia’s leading manufacturer of anti-aging products. Since the launch of its botulinum toxin products in Korea in 2010, Hugel has become the first Korean biopharmaceutical company among the four companies which have obtained approval to launch botulinum toxin products in the China market. As for product quality, Hugel uses patented technology to completely extract high-purity compound protein and adopts stricter quality control than the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea to ensure quality throughout the entire production process which is protected by patents. Hugel insists on high quality, high standards and high efficiency.
According to market feedback, the per capita effective dose equivalent is 50U, which will be the mainstream in the market in the future. Leveraging the accurate effects and appropriate therapeutic dose, Letybo® 50U satisfies the customers’ needs for higher cost performance in term of product type and complies with the project management, operation and development value of hospital institutions. Letybo® 50U enriches the specifications and types of products based on the fact that Letybo® 100U has been approved for marketing in the market of China, which is benefit to the market popularization of normal Letybo® products.
In 2019, the market size of botulinum toxin products in China was approximately US$0.6 billion (approximately HK$4.66 billion) with a penetration rate of less than 2% of the overall medical aesthetics market in China. There is still significant unmet demand in the market. With the continuously increasing number of beauty enthusiasts in China and increasing spending power and consumption willingness of consumers, medical aesthetics technologies and products from foreign countries, in particular Korea, are more acceptable to consumers and have huge market potential. It is expected that the sales of botulinum toxin products in China will surge in the coming five years and sales will reach US$1.8 billion (approximately HK$13.5 billion) in 2025, making China one of the three major global markets alongside with the United States and the European Union.
The Group’s goal is to shape Letybo into the No. 1 botulinum toxin brand in China and to achieve a market share of over 30% in China within three years. With regard to the sales layout of Letybo, the Company has commenced preliminary works so as to fully prepare for the official launch of Letybo within this year. Relying on the Group’s sales network in more than 200 cities in China and the use of mature and efficient sales promotion methods and models, the sales performance of Letybo is highly expected. Currently, the Group has strategically established a sales model in which direct sales and agent teams cooperate with each other, and has established a strong and experienced professional sales team. At the beginning of 2021, there were more than 3,000 cooperative institutions. In addition, the Company will fully consider the characteristics, similarities and differences of various markets in China, and focus on Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other first-tier cities with huge population bases, high spending power, and huge demand for medical aesthetics. Also, the Company will consolidate academic research in association with Hugel Expert Leader’s Forum, a leading symposium widely respected across the medical aesthetics industry in Korea, to lay a more solid foundation for Letybo’s brand awareness.
Dr. Che Fengsheng, Chairman and Executive Director of Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group said: " The market highly values the Group’s medical aesthetics platform and its core products, namely hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin. The introduction of Letybo into the Group’s medical aesthetics platform will not only enrich and expand the platform’s product portfolio, but also reflect the Group’s product layout strategy towards diversification and internationalization. The Group expects to expand the market awareness of its products and brands through the implementation of marketing projects and reasonable pricing. The Group will deepen communication with medical institutions and doctor groups to further improve service standards and expand market share. The Group will also develop its ability to compete against its peers so as to outrun its competitors and to become the leading and first-class medical aesthetics platform."