[Edaily Reporter Kim Seung-kwon ] “SkyLabs is not a company that will expand overseas in the future—it is a company that is already growing overseas.”
CEO Lee Byung-hwan made this remark at a press conference prior to the company’s IPO. It has been about a month since the IPO. Do the numbers support this statement?

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Below the Lower End of the Offering Price Range… But Rebounded on the First Day

SkyLabs made its debut on the KOSDAQ on September 4. The IPO process was not smooth. The subscription ratio for institutional investors was 63.41 to 1. The proportion of shares subject to mandatory holding commitments was only 0.17%. The final offering price was set at 10,000 won, 3,000 won below the lower end of the target price range (13,000–16,000 won). The subscription ratio for retail investors also remained at just 2.9 to 1.

The mood shifted dramatically on the day of the listing. The stock closed its first trading session at 23,500 won—a 135% increase from the offering price. The market capitalization, which stood at 187.4 billion won based on the offering price, surged to around 440 billion won based on the closing price. Subsequently, the stock price soared to as high as 39,350 won at one point. Through this offering, the company raised 20 billion won.

Since then, the stock price has been undergoing a correction. On the 4th of this month, the lock-up period for approximately 4.34 million shares—representing 23% of the issued shares—expired. The closing price on the 12th was 13,460 won. While this remains above the offering price, it is more than 40% lower than the closing price on the listing date. The market capitalization has fallen to the 250 billion won range.

Earnings are on an upward trend. Revenue increased from 600 million won in 2023 to 4.1 billion won in 2024 and 7.9 billion won in 2025. First-quarter revenue this year reached 2.1 billion won, a 354% increase from the same period last year. Revenue for the first half of the year totaled approximately 5 billion won.

The company has set a revenue target of 10.2 billion won for this year. It plans to grow revenue to 18.8 billion won in 2027 and 38.7 billion won in 2028, with the goal of returning to operating profitability in 2028. CEO Lee expressed confidence, stating, “We will exceed this year’s target.” Revenue from Cart O2 and Cart Vital has not yet been factored into the forecast.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical is handling domestic sales. According to the company, as of last June, 38 out of 47 tertiary general hospitals were using Cart BPI Pro. It has been adopted by all of the “Big 5” hospitals. A company official stated, “In the past, prescriptions were concentrated in cardiology, but now they are expanding to family medicine and endocrinology departments within the same hospitals.” CEO Lee said, “Domestic sales are expected to surge in the second half of the year,” adding, “We are focusing on increasing the number of prescriptions.” He cited expanding into departments such as neurology as a key goal for the second half.

The collaborative structure with Daewoong Pharmaceutical is also cited as a strength. Daewoong Pharmaceutical has significantly expanded its digital health product portfolio and operates a separate sales organization. CEO Lee assessed, “It’s difficult to drive sales with just one product, but things improve when you have a dozen or so,” adding, “It seems we’ve entered a virtuous cycle.” Last August, the company began supplying its products to the 17 regional branches of the Korea Health Management Association. The products are used to conduct detailed follow-up examinations for individuals who show abnormal blood pressure readings during health screenings. This marks the company’s expansion into the post-health-screening management market. Next month, the company also plans to launch “Cart O2,” a ring-shaped oxygen saturation monitor.

IEM in Europe, Otsuka and Omron in Japan

Approximately 2.6 billion won of the company’s revenue in the first half of this year came from overseas markets, accounting for 52% of the total. SkyLabs first secured European CE-MDR certification and UK MHRA registration. Subsequently, it signed a supply agreement with IEM, a European company specializing in ABPM, and entered markets such as the UK and Germany. CEO Lee stated, “We’ve already held discussions with IEM regarding several countries,” adding, “For other markets, we’re preparing separately with companies that excel in those regions.”

Sales are conducted through bulk purchases by distributors. CEO Lee explained, “Distributors purchase a certain volume at once on a country- or region-by-region basis,” adding, “Contract values vary from several hundred million won to several billion won.” This is why overseas sales can fluctuate from quarter to quarter. He predicted, “Overseas sales in the second half of this year will not be significant, but they will surge in the first half of next year.”

The strategy of selling only core devices rather than an in-home platform follows the same logic. CEO Lee said, “Since these are standardized products, we can sell them regardless of the country or market.”

In Asia, the company is pursuing a “two-track” approach. In Japan, Otsuka Pharmaceutical handles hospital-use products, while Omron Healthcare handles home-use products. CEO Lee remarked, “Omron is the company that sells by far the most home blood pressure monitors,” adding, “For hospital-use products, a pharmaceutical company with strong hospital sales capabilities will likely perform better.” He explained that the company has also made some progress in navigating the approval process with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The company is also approaching the Chinese market in partnership with Omron. CEO Lee identified China as Omron’s second-largest market. However, the company anticipates that the approval process for foreign firms will be lengthy and time-consuming.

The ultimate battleground is the United States. CEO Lee remarked, “Europe is divided into many countries, with only a few major ones,” adding, “The U.S., China, and Japan are single markets, so the impact is bound to be significant.” The continuous cuffless blood pressure monitor must undergo the FDA’s De Novo procedure. Clinical trials are complex and time-consuming. The company has been discussing the clinical protocol with the FDA through a pre-submission consultation (Q-Submission). The goal is to obtain approval by the end of 2027 following local clinical trials.

CEO Lee said, “For the home-use market, Omron is currently just waiting for approval,” and added, “For the hospital market, we can partner with Otsuka’s U.S. subsidiary or the various distributors that have inquired.” Otsuka’s U.S. subsidiary is engaged in the renal denervation business, which lowers blood pressure. CEO Lee added, “As we present evidence and gain wider recognition, we are receiving active distribution requests from the U.S. as well.”

The vision he envisions is the “continuous blood pressure monitor market” itself. CEO Lee said, “Just as the market expanded from blood glucose meters that require blood sampling to continuous glucose monitors, the market for cuff-based blood pressure monitors will also expand to continuous blood pressure monitors.” He continued, “Blood pressure monitors are just one of many tools for generating data,” emphasizing, “We aim to become a platform that produces medical data.”

CEO Lee emphasized, “We can become a major company based on continuous blood pressure monitors alone,” but added, “That’s not the end of it.” The company plans to use its accumulated data to pursue new drug clinical trials, real-world evidence (RWE), remote monitoring, and medical AI initiatives.

Supporting pharmaceutical companies’ clinical trials through the medical data platform “Cart Net” is an extension of this strategy. The adoption of Cart BPI Pro in a cohort study by the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency marks the first achievement in this regard. CEO Lee stated, “We aim to become Korea’s leading medical technology company,” and predicted, “The first half of next year, when overseas sales begin in earnest, will be the first test of that claim.”