DongKook Pharmaceutical’s business structure has been changing in recent years. The company has long been known as a pharmaceutical firm centered on over-the-counter (OTC) brands such as Insadol and Madecassol, but it has recently begun to parallelly operate healthcare product businesses including the derma cosmetic brand “Centellian24” and aesthetic devices. Another notable feature is that its advertising expenses account for a larger share than its research and development (R&D) investment in the pharmaceutical and bio sectors.

According to the business report (2025) disclosed by DongKook Pharmaceutical on the 12th, last year’s consolidated sales came to KRW 926.9 billion, with operating profit of KRW 96.6 billion. The operating margin was approximately 10.4%.

By revenue structure, healthcare business sales were KRW 316.4 billion, accounting for about 34% of total sales. This segment includes the cosmetics brand “Centellian24” as well as aesthetic devices, health functional foods, and household products. Pharmaceutical sales amounted to about KRW 398.8 billion, consisting of OTC products at KRW 170.7 billion and prescription drugs (ETC) at KRW 228.1 billion.

The expansion of the cosmetics segment has been steady. Centellian24 is a derma cosmetic brand based on TECA (Titrated Extract of Centella Asiatica), an ingredient derived from centella asiatica. In February this year, DongKook Pharmaceutical officially announced that the brand’s cumulative sales had surpassed KRW 1 trillion. Its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) show a similar trend. In April 2024, it acquired a stake in aesthetic device and small home appliance company Withnics for KRW 2.18662 billion, and in October of the same year, it purchased a stake in cosmetics ODM company Reborn Cosmetics for KRW 30.66 billion.

In the cost structure, the gap between advertising and promotional expenses and R&D expenditures stands out. Last year, advertising and promotional expenses were about KRW 74.3 billion, or 8.0% of sales. In contrast, R&D expenses were only 4.1% of sales on a separate basis cumulative to the third quarter of 2025, and 4.6% on a full-year 2024 separate basis. R&D expenditures for full-year 2025 are also estimated to be in the 4–5% range. On this estimate, the share of advertising and promotional expenses is roughly 1.8 times higher than that of R&D spending.

Compared with other pharmaceutical companies, DongKook Pharmaceutical’s strategic focus on the beauty segment, including cosmetics, appears even more pronounced. For Yuhan Corporation, the R&D expense ratio was 10.5% in 2024 and 9.7% on a cumulative basis to the third quarter of 2025. For Hanmi Pharmaceutical, it was 14.0% in 2024 and 15.2% cumulative to the third quarter of 2025. Daewoong Pharmaceutical posted 18.5% in 2024 and 15.4% cumulative to the third quarter of 2025. The difference from DongKook Pharmaceutical’s R&D expense ratio in the 4% range is substantial.

The composition of revenue also differs from that of major top-tier pharmaceutical companies. Yuhan and Hanmi still reflect in their results and disclosures a focus on prescription drugs and new drug pipelines. Yuhan mainly highlights new drug performance such as Leclaza, licensing income, and expansion of R&D investment. Hanmi’s core areas are its pipelines in obesity/diabetes and oncology, as well as pharmaceutical portfolios including Beijing Hanmi and Rolontis (Rolvedon). In contrast, DongKook Pharmaceutical, in addition to OTC brands such as Madecassol and Insadol, is increasingly emphasizing consumer-goods-like areas such as Centellian24, aesthetic devices, and cosmetics ODM integration in its performance explanations.

In its 2025 business report, DongKook Pharmaceutical classified its main business segments into OTC pharmaceuticals, prescription pharmaceuticals, healthcare, overseas business, and DongKook Life Science. It also underscores that it defines itself as a “total healthcare group.” Through recent corporate acquisitions, the company has secured capabilities in aesthetic device manufacturing and cosmetics ODM, thereby further expanding its healthcare business domain.

A DongKook Pharmaceutical representative stated, “In the healthcare sector, leveraging pharmaceutical company technologies and know-how, the company is seeing stable sales growth through the launch of consumer-friendly products in various fields, expansion of distribution channel infrastructure, participation in domestic and overseas exhibitions, strengthening of social media such as Instagram, collaborations, and other active marketing activities,” adding, “The derma cosmetic (cosmetics) brand Centellian24 is showing notable sales growth in overseas markets, and DongKook Pharmaceutical’s official online shopping mall ‘DK Shop (DK SHOP)’ has surpassed 1 million members, establishing itself as a strong player among in-house malls in the industry.”

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