[Edaily Reporter YU JIN-HEE ] South Korea’s pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare industries are accelerating their global expansion. Recently, products such as Zimpentra ( Celltrion(068270)) and Cenobamate ( SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS(326030)) have achieved significant results through direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales in the U.S. market, highlighting the growing importance of direct local marketing.

The U.S. biotech advertising market, where direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription drugs is permitted, is the world’s largest and is estimated to be worth $26.2 billion (approximately 36 trillion won) this year. This is the backdrop against which Wise birds Inc.(273060)—which holds top-tier partnerships with 11 major global media platforms, including Meta, Google, and TikTok—recently established a dedicated U.S. DTC advertising team to enter this market.

On the 22nd, E-Daily’s pharmaceutical and biotech premium content outlet, Pharm E-Daily, met with Choi Ho-jun, Co-CEO of Wise birds Inc., at the company’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss the rationale behind the new business venture, future strategies for penetrating the U.S. market, and plans for synergy with the biotech industry. The following is a Q&A with him.

- What prompted you to expand your digital advertising business into the biotech sector?
△The manufacturing technology and pharmaceutical competitiveness of Koreanbiotech companies have reached world-class levels, and exports to the U.S. are increasing significantly year after year. However, until now, domestic companies have tended to focus solely on selecting local partners when entering the U.S. market, with few instances of them conducting their own marketing. Looking at the recent success stories of K-Beauty and K-Food, we see that by actively utilizing digital platforms rather than traditional media to engage in direct marketing, these industries have achieved remarkable results. We determined that this is the area where Wise Birds Inc.’s capabilities—as a top-tier partner of over 11 global media platforms—can be most effectively leveraged, so we entered the market at the right time. Building on this foundation, we will be at the forefront of creating K-Bio blockbusters.

-What trend did you pay the most attention to when entering the North American biotech marketing market?
△The focus of pharmaceutical advertisingis rapidly shifting from traditional TV to digital—specifically to short-form videos, where users spend more time. A trend has also taken hold where patients seek out information and make their own judgments before receiving medical treatment. It has become crucial for advertising to go beyond mere exposure and build trust with end customers. These changes work in favor of digital marketing companies with strong media operations capabilities and data analytics expertise. We viewed the data-driven reorganization of marketing activities as the basis for our entry into this market.

-The strategic value of digital marketing in the era of direct sales by K-Bio companies in the U.S. is
△Direct salesgo beyond simply selling products; they mean that companies directly acquire market and customer data. In this direct sales structure, digital marketing serves as the starting point for accumulating data along the decision-making path—from patients to prescribers to insurance companies. As data accumulates, the efficiency of subsequent campaigns increases; therefore, partnering with a consultant who can provide long-term guidance at the point of market entry will determine medium- to long-term performance.

-Domestic companies often face difficulties when entering the North American market. How do you plan to address these challenges?
△When Koreancompanies use local foreign agencies, they encounter challenges such as differences in work culture, a lack of business understanding, and communication barriers caused by time zone differences and language. Based on its global media partnerships and operational experience, Wise birds Inc. proposes phased localization strategies tailored to the client’s business objectives. We also offer joint consulting on content preferred by U.S. consumers through our global media experts based in Korea. By leveraging the latest artificial intelligence (AI), we support understanding of new markets and operational optimization; another major advantage is providing services in Korean during the same time zone as our clients.

- What are specific measures to lower regulatory requirements and barriers to entry in the U.S. DTC advertising market?
△Unlike in Korea, U.S.DTC advertising operates under a post-approval management system where advertisers bear full responsibility, rather than a pre-approval system. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies the “Fair Balance” principle, which requires that the efficacy and side effects of a drug be addressed with equal weight, and mandates that content be submitted to the FDA upon initial execution. This creates a dual structure where advertisers must also satisfy pre-certification procedures at the platform level, such as those required by Meta, Google, and TikTok. Authorities have significantly stepped up enforcement using AI starting in 2025. Through its status as a top-tier partner with 11 media platforms, Wise birds Inc. incorporates media review standards from the production stage onward. Rather than reacting to regulations after the fact, this approach eliminates risks at the source from the planning stage, thereby dramatically reducing trial and error for marketers.

-Why is the ability of a single operator to centrally manage top-tier partnerships with 11 major global media platforms the optimal condition?
△Today’sglobal consumers simultaneously use various media apps on their mobile devices depending on their needs. Bio ads must reach audiences with vastly different characteristics—such as patients (DTC), prescribers (B2D), and insurers (Payers)—through distinct media channels. Using different agencies for each media platform results in scattered data and inconsistent messaging. Wise birds Inc. produces content optimized for each media channel and integrates the management of multiple media platforms within a single system to manage media allocation by target audience, ensure message consistency, and maximize effectiveness.

- Selected as the first Korean advertising agency to join “TikTok Marketing Partners” (TMP)
△In the current landscape where U.S.biotech advertising is shifting toward short-form content, consulting capabilities—which go beyond simple ad execution to include direct collaboration with platforms from content planning to performance optimization—make all the difference. Content for patients and content for medical professionals are completely different in format. Through close collaboration with TikTok Korea, we plan to rapidly apply the success stories of existing Korean companies in North America, accumulate data over time, and design and operate ads optimized for each target audience.

-How does your proprietary AI-based ad automation platform, “Nest Ads Manager,” integrate with your strategy for the AI search environment?
△NestAd Manager automates ad execution and operations using AI. We plan to propose it as a solution to expand the advertising business and secure additional revenue for client channels that are expected to generate significant traffic in the medium to long term. Furthermore, as patients and medical professionals increasingly turn to AI search via chatbots to find information, the company is taking a leading role in providing Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) services—which optimize client websites for AI environments—as well as advertising strategies tailored to the conversational AI service ‘ChatGPT.’

-Support measures for small and medium-sized biotech companies with limited financial resources and infrastructure
△Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)face the greatest burden during the production phase. Wise birds Inc. participates as a partner in the TikTok SMB Academy and operates a program to support SMEs through its in-house production team, Design Lab. Building on this experience, the company is reviewing an advertising production support program to ensure that biotech companies are granted the same opportunities. The ultimate goal is to establish a comprehensive support system that enables even companies with limited production capabilities to run ads that meet the review standards of global media platforms.

- What are the mid- to long-term vision and strategies for enhancing shareholder value to achieve an annual ad revenue of 1 trillion won?
△ Wise birds Inc.has grown at an average annual rate of 41% over the past five years, achieving 5792억 won in annual ad revenue last year. The drivers for the next phase of growth are platform revenue, AI-based efficiency improvements, and global expansion. Since acquiring AdEfficiency as a subsidiary in October 2024, the company has demonstrated comprehensive marketing synergies through its financial results, recording an operating profit margin of 24.6% in the first quarter of this year. As the biotech marketing sector features higher product unit prices and sustained growth compared to traditional e-commerce or beauty sectors, once this business is firmly established, it will elevate both revenue quality and profit margins, leading to enhanced mid- to long-term corporate value and shareholder value.