[Edaily Reporter Kim Seung-kwon ] #IVIM Technology, Inc. is poised for a turnaround in its financial performance. In the first half of this year alone, the company achieved revenue approaching 70% of last year’s total, demonstrating rapid revenue growth. Having proven its technological capabilities by being selected by top-tier global research institutions and multinational pharmaceutical companies, the company is now considered to have fully entered a “two-track” growth trajectory, with its preclinical contract research organization (CRO) business—centered on next-generation modalities (therapeutic approaches), which are key to the new drug development market—also performing well.

The foundation for this growth is solid. Expanded OEM supply through partners such as the Chinese subsidiary of global life sciences company Revvity drove revenue growth. Additionally, the company’s customer base—which had previously been centered on academia—has significantly expanded to include global pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi and Kiezi, enabling it to establish a stable revenue structure. PharmDaily analyzed IVIM Technology, Inc.’s financial performance and highlighted its future growth potential.

Biomicroscopes Captivating Global Big Pharma and Research Institutions… Building a Track Record to “Give Wings to Exports”

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 21st, IVIM Technology, Inc. recorded sales of 3,054,270,000 won in the first half of this year. This figure amounts to 69.8% of last year’s annual sales of 4,375,860,000 won. Along with this revenue growth, profitability has also improved significantly. The operating loss for the first half was approximately 1.65 billion won, a reduction of nearly 40% compared to the same period last year (approximately 2.7 billion won); in particular, the operating loss in the second quarter fell sharply to around 200 million won.

Given the industry’s typical pattern, where orders for research equipment and revenue recognition are concentrated in the second half of the year, the prevailing outlook is that the company will not only set a new all-time revenue record this year but is also highly likely to reach the break-even point (BEP) next year. Kim Pil-han, CEO of IVIM Technology, Inc., expressed confidence, stating, “We expect revenue this year to more than double compared to last year, and we anticipate a turnaround next year, surpassing the break-even point (BEP).”

Behind IVIM Technology, Inc.’s explosive growth lies the expanding global supply of its flagship product, the “Intravital Microscopy (IVM)” system. This cutting-edge technology enables the observation, at the cellular level, of the movement of cancer cells, immune cells, blood vessels, and drugs within the organs and tissues of living animals. Unlike conventional CT or MRI scans, which only detect changes at the organ level, this technology uses software to compensate for movements caused by breathing and heartbeats, enabling real-time, three-dimensional tracking of microscopic changes within living organisms.

The first step in the company’s overseas expansion was taken in Boston, USA. After establishing a local lab in 2021 and conducting an aggressive demonstration campaign, researchers at Harvard University decided to make the first overseas purchase after testing the equipment themselves. In the high-end research equipment market, the strong reference of “installed at Harvard University” immediately became a valuable asset of trust. Subsequently, the company continued to supply the equipment to top-tier institutions such as Johns Hopkins University.

The customer base quickly expanded to include multinational pharmaceutical companies. Sanofi made a decisive move to adopt the equipment for its own research program. The Italian pharmaceutical company Chiesi first utilized IVIM Technology, Inc.’s CRO services and, impressed by its technical capabilities, went on to purchase the equipment outright. This is an excellent example of a virtuous cycle where service collaboration directly leads to the purchase of high-value equipment. In the Chinese market, the company is rapidly securing a foothold in the local sales network through an OEM supply partnership with Revvity.

Given that each unit is a high-value piece of equipment costing approximately $500,000 (about 700 million won), the sales of maintenance services, consumables, and customized accessories following the initial equipment sale serve as a solid additional revenue stream. The company also designed and supplied a custom accessory for ovarian imaging to Harvard University. CEO Kim Pil-han shared the on-site reaction, saying, “Every time I attend a conference, I can feel our brand recognition growing year after year,” and added, “A Harvard researcher even praised us, saying, ‘If I had known such equipment existed, I would have bought it long ago.’”

Explosive Growth in

“In-vivo Validation” in the Era of AI-Driven New Drugs… A Second Leap Forward as a Next-Generation CRO

While sales of bio-microscopy equipment serve as a solid cash cow, the company identifies its non-clinical CRO business as its second major driver of explosive growth. This service goes beyond simply determining whether a drug has reached an organ; it visualizes and verifies in real time whether the drug has “accurately penetrated the interior of the actual target cells.”

The current hot topic in the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry is next-generation modalities aimed at ultra-precise targeting, such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttles, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), exosomes, and RNA therapeutics. As targets become more precise, verifying delivery efficiency at the cellular level becomes essential. IVIM Technology, Inc. has already secured major promising domestic companies—including ABL Bio Inc.(298380), LigaChem Biosciences(141080), Peptron, Inc.(087010), HanmiPharm(128940), DAEWOONGPHARMACEUTICAL(069620), and Ilias Biologics—as CRO clients.

A prime example of this success is the evaluation of ABL Bio Inc.’s BBB shuttle technology, which led to a large-scale technology export deal with Sanofi and others. IVIM Technology, Inc. visually demonstrated through bioimaging that antibodies incorporating the shuttle technology exited the bloodstream six hours after administration and were fully delivered to brain tissue by the 24-hour mark. It also captured, at the single-cell level, how Ilios Biologics’ exosomes reached liver target cells within 10 minutes of administration and entered the cells 30 minutes later.

To maintain a significant lead in its core technology, IVIM Technology, Inc. has integrated an AI denoising model that automatically removes image noise into its software. Furthermore, the company is currently conducting clinical trials for a “slide-free pathology” medical device that can determine within just 5 minutes whether cancer cells remain on the resection margin during surgery.

Amid the transitional regulatory trend toward phasing out animal testing, bioimaging technology—which enables the collection of maximized data using a small number of animals—is becoming an unstoppable trend. While some overhang risk exists following the IPO, observers predict that robust global orders and overwhelming technological prowess will offset this.

CEO Kim Pil-han expressed his aspirations, stating, “We have achieved our first goal of establishing our laboratory equipment as the global standard. Now, our goal is to become the undisputed No. 1 solution provider in the global intravital microscopy systems sector.”