Biotech Health Industry Sees 12.6% Revenue Growth in Q1

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) has released its analysis of 319 manufacturers in the biotech health sector—including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics—for the first quarter of 2026.

According to the report, revenue increased by 12.6% year-over-year. The growth rate in revenue and total asset growth rose by 6.8 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points, respectively, indicating an expanding growth trend.

The revenue growth rate for biotech health manufacturers rose from 5.8% to 12.6% compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2025), with the total asset growth rate also rising from 1.6% to 3.5% compared to the same period last year (Q1 2025).

In terms of sectors, both pharmaceuticals and cosmetics saw increases in revenue growth rates, from 1.1% to 12.4% and from 13.3% to 15.7%, respectively, while the medical devices sector declined from 14.3% to 8.0%. The increase in revenue for major pharmaceutical companies (from -9.5% to 28.9%) and medium-sized (from 21.9% to 27.8%) and small-sized cosmetics companies (from 20.8% to 23.0%) drove growth in their respective sectors.

All sectors experienced increases in total asset growth rates compared to the same period last year: pharmaceuticals (1.0% to 2.8%), medical devices (1.0% to 4.0%), and cosmetics (4.6% to 5.3%).

Profitability has also strengthened, with the operating profit margin and pre-tax profit margin rising by 2.8 percentage points and 5.8 percentage points, respectively. The operating profit margin for biotech health manufacturers increased from 10.6% to 13.5%, and the pre-tax profit margin increased from 12.4% to 18.3% year-over-year.

All sectors showed improvements in their operating profit margins compared to Q1 2025: pharmaceuticals (from 11.0% to 13.9%), medical devices (from 8.3% to 12.4%), and cosmetics (from 11.0% to 13.0%). The high operating profit margin of major pharmaceutical companies (from 29.2% to 37.2%) and the reduction in losses for small medical device companies (from -15.8% to -1.0%) contributed to the increase in operating profit margins in these sectors. The pre-tax profit margins also rose: pharmaceuticals (from 12.0% to 16.8%), medical devices (from 5.8% to 22.7%), and cosmetics (from 17.6% to 19.2%).

However, the debt ratio for biotech manufacturers has risen from 40.4% to 41.6% and the dependency on borrowings increased from 10.6% to 10.8% compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2025). The debt ratio for pharmaceuticals slightly eased from 46.0% to 45.8%, while medical devices and cosmetics increased from 37.2% to 39.6% and from 25.4% to 29.7%, respectively. Dependency on borrowings for pharmaceuticals (from 12.6% to 12.7%), medical devices (from 8.2% to 8.8%), and cosmetics (from 5.7% to 6.1%) also saw a slight increase compared to the previous quarter.