Growth prospects look bright for i-Sens, a biosensor developer based in Seoul, as it aims to make inroads into the health care market in the US and China next year.

With Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election, pharmaceutical and biomedicine shares, including that of Kosdaq-listed i-Sens, rose globally last week over expectations of free competition in the drug market that is forecast to have fewer price regulations under the incoming Trump administration. 

In China, the market for self-monitoring kits for blood glucose is expected to get bigger in the era of rapid aging and rising obesity, especially considering that the total Chinese population is hovering around 1.3 billion. The health-related market in China stood at $250 million as of 2015, according to Global Data, still small in size compared to the population.

Since its foundation in 2000, i- Sens has been developing blood glucose monitoring systems, electrolyte and gas analyzers and immunosensors.

The products are already selling in as many as 80 worldwide markets including the US, Japan, Europe and many others, but the company hopes for a greater global presence by making inroads into the Chinese market with an aim of raising 50 billion won ($42.7 million) in sales there by 2020.

The company completed construction of a factory with a manufacturing capacity of 300 million units per year in Zhangjiagang of Jiangsu Province, China in September 2015. It is currently awaiting approval for production and aims to start running the facility in the first quarter of 2017.

“The depreciation cost for running the plant is estimated to be 1 billion won annually, which is not a burden for the company,” said Choi Jae-hoon, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. “The plant is expected to reach the break-even point soon, considering the firm’s plan to increase its capacity up to 1.2 billion.”

Choi set his target price for the company at 52,000 won per share. The biosensor maker’s shares captured market attention as they rose around 3 percent on Wednesday and Thursday after the US presidential election.

The flagship blood glucose monitoring system line for i- Sens, CareSens, first launched in 2003 and features a small, but quick test.

From the initial launch with CareSens I to its latest product CareSens N, based on the company’s proprietary auto-coding technology, the product line has cemented its position as one of top blood glucose monitoring products in the world. The auto-coding technology does not require embedding additional chips into the monitoring system.

“The firm’s recent stocks have been underperforming compared to its solid fundamentals due to bearish factors in the overall healthcare sector,” said Kim Joo-yong, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. “As the company has secured some new buyers in the US market and is expected to operate the China plant early next year, upside potential for the company’s stock value is sufficient.

The company is awaiting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to transact with the new buyers. It is expected to win approval by the end of the year.

Since going public on the Kosdaq in 2013, i-Sens has seen a steady growth from 82.8 billion won in annual sales to 101.9 billion won in 2015.

By the end of this year, the company is forecast to reach 130 billion won in sales and 27 billion won in operating profit, according to market watchers. In the third quarter alone, it raised 33.5 billion won in sales, up 31.6 percent from the same quarter last year, and 6.9 billion won in operating profit, a 36.8 percent growth during the same period.

With the expansion of its second plant in Songdo, Incheon this year, the company’s total production capacity stands at 1.3 billion units, combined with its original production facility in Wonju, Gangwon, i-Sens’ annual sales are expected to rise 13.4 percent to 146 billion won in 2017, according to Korea Investment & Securities.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)