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On March 27, 2020, at the SD Biosensor bio-diagnostic company at Cheongju, south of Seoul, sample testing devices used in diagnosing Covid-19 are tested on a production line as they are readied to be included in testing kits for distribution.
ED AFP/JONES via Getty Images
Cho Young-sik, the founder of Covid-19 test manufacturer SD Biosensor, is anticipated to become a billionaire this month when the company’s shares are expected to be listed on the Korea Exchange.
SD Biosensor is selling 12.4 million shares for between 45,000 and 52,000 won each. The deal might raise 603 billion won ($530 million) at the midpoint of that range, valuing the company at 4.9 trillion won. The subscription period will run from July 8 to July 9. The profits will be used to develop production lines, diversify the company’s product portfolio, and increase its footprint in Europe and South America, according to the company.
Cho, who turned 60 in June, is the chairman and largest stakeholder of SD Biosensor, owning a 32.07 percent ownership in the company. He also owns shares in SD Biosensor through BioNote and SDB Investment, the company’s second and third largest stockholders. Cho controls little over 52 percent of SD Biosensor in total. His net worth is estimated to be $1.9 billion by Forbes (after discounting the valuation because the company is still private).
SD Biosensor is best known for their Standard Q Covid-19 test, which is a quick version of the Covid-19 test. Almost majority of the Standard Q items are exported by the company, which is situated in Suwon, south of Seoul. The Singapore government gave temporary approval this month for the sale of four Covid-19 self-test kits in pharmacies, two of which are developed by SD Biosensor. SD Biosensor was one of the first Covid-19 test manufactures certified by the Indian government early in the epidemic.

On Thursday, Oct. 28, 2020, packaging for a Standard Q Covid-19 Ag Test strip developed by SD Biosensor is displayed on a desk at an Amdavad Municipal Corp. rapid-antigen methodology Covid-19 test site set up at Ahmedabad Railway Station in Ahmedabad, India.
Bloomberg/Sumit Dayal
When the pandemic struck in 2020, the company claimed a 23-fold increase in revenue to 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion), and a nearly 200-fold increase in net income to 622 billion won ($527 million). Standard Q sales provide for the majority of SD Biosensor’s revenue (about 84 percent of total revenue in 2020). In late 2020, the Slovakian government purchased 13 million Covid-19 tests from SD Biosensor, enough to test the country’s entire population twice.
As the epidemic spreads across the globe, demand for SD Biosensor’s Covid-19 testing is projected to stay high this year. Cambodia just purchased 1 million Covid-19 tests from SD Biosensor. The company’s main source of revenue before to the epidemic was blood glucose monitoring gadgets.
SD Biosensor and its South Korean competitors were among the first to mass-produce Covid-19 tests, as the country was the first outside of China to have a severe coronavirus outbreak. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved SD Biosensor, Seegene, and two other Korean companies’ first testing kits in February 2020. In March 2020, Seegene’s chief executive, Chun Jong-yoon, told Forbes Korea, “It was a critical situation, thus it was vital to respond swiftly.” “It was unprecedented for the KCDC to accept this in two weeks.” Chun has a net worth of $690 million and is the top stakeholder in Seegene with an 18.21 percent interest.
Standard Diagnostics (SD), the predecessor company to SD Biosensor, was formed by Cho in 1999. Cho sold a portion of his investment in SD to Massachusetts-based Inverness Medical Innovations in 2010 and created SD Biosensor from the biosensor device business, which uses biological material such as antibodies to identify disease. Cho worked at Korean pharmaceutical company Green Cross before joining SD. He holds a degree in veterinary medicine from the famous Seoul National University.
Seo Jung-jin and Shin Dong-guk, two additional billionaires on Korea’s 50 Richest list, made their fortunes in the healthcare industry. With a net worth of $12.5 billion, Seo, who cofounded pharmaceutical Celltrion in 2002, topped this year’s Korea wealth ranking. Celltrion created the Covid-19 antibody treatment last year, and it was conditionally licensed in South Korea in February pending the results of a phase-three clinical trial. Meanwhile, Shin’s personal wealth is concentrated at Hanmi Pharmaceutical, which manufactures Covid-19 vaccines./nRead More

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