Amicogen

What Amicogen does

Amicogen is a South Korean KOSDAQ-listed biotechnology company (ticker 092040) founded in 2000 and headquartered in Jinju, South Korea. The company develops and manufactures specialty enzymes, bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing materials, healthcare nutrition products, and protein purification resins. Its core proprietary platform is i DNA evolution™, an in vitro DNA/gene evolution technology used to engineer enzymes and bioprocess materials with tailored catalytic and binding properties. The company operates through approximately 15 subsidiaries spanning South Korea, China (Amicogen China, Shandong Amicogen), and other markets, with regulatory certifications including ISO 9001, ISO 13485, FDA registration, and GMP. R&D accounts for roughly 30% of the 51–100 total headcount.

Amicogen serves four primary customer segments: biopharmaceutical manufacturers (including biosimilar developers producing alternatives to Keytruda and Eylea), industrial enzyme users, health functional food manufacturers, and individual healthcare consumers via branded products such as the ARTILYSIN endolysin wound treatment. Revenue is generated through B2B sales of process-qualified specialty enzymes, protein purification resins, and cell culture media to biopharma and industrial customers, supplemented by B2C healthcare nutrition and wound-care products. Named major customers include KBIOHealth; the rest of the customer base is not publicly itemized.

The business has been unprofitable across the most recent four reported fiscal years (negative EBITDA and net income), with no dividends paid. Following a sharp 2025 revenue contraction (reported figures suggest a ~76% YoY decline against 2024, assuming KRW denomination), the company executed a February 2026 capital raise of approximately 17.4 billion KRW (~$13M USD) via issuance of ~14.9 million shares at KRW 1,164 per share, explicitly directed toward financial stabilization and a "stable growth foundation."

Name

Amicogen

Legal name

아미코젠 주식회사

Website

https://amicogen.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Amicogen is a South Korean KOSDAQ-listed biotechnology company that develops specialty enzymes, biopharmaceutical manufacturing materials, and protein purification resins using its proprietary i DNA evolution™ gene evolution platform, serving biopharma manufacturers, biosimilar developers, industrial enzyme users, and healthcare consumers across South Korea and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Biotechnology / Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Materials

NAICS

Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Engineered Microbial Therapeutics (synthetic biology, gene circuits) (HLAAAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Condition Supplements (Sleep, Stress, Heart, Joint, Gut, Immunity) (CRADAGAE), Condition-Specific Bioactives (Glucosamine/Chondroitin, Plant Sterols, Melatonin, Lutein/Zeaxanthin) (AFAJAKAK)

Keywords

• Specialty enzymes
• Cell culture media
• Protein purification resins
• Bioprocessing materials
• Industrial biotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Jinju

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Specialty Enzyme Sales: Sale of industrial and pharmaceutical grade specialty enzymes developed using proprietary gene evolution technology
2. Bio-materials/Healthcare Ingredients: Sale of enzyme-based bioactive materials for health functional foods, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics applications
3. Protein Purification Resins: Sale of custom protein purification resins for biologics and biosimilar manufacturing to pharmaceutical companies
4. Cell Culture Media: Production and sale of cell culture media for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, including both powder and liquid formats
5. KNUTRA Consumer Products: Direct-to-consumer health functional food brand sold through e-commerce platforms
6. ODM/OEM Services: Custom development and manufacturing of health functional foods for other brands

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Amicogen develops and manufactures specialty enzymes, bio-sourcing materials, protein purification resins, cell culture media, and eco-friendly antibiotics using its proprietary i·DNA evolution™ gene evolution technology, supplying biopharmaceutical manufacturers with domestically produced bioprocessing inputs. It also sells KNUTRA-brand health functional foods to consumers via e-commerce and provides ODM/OEM custom manufacturing services for health supplement brands.

Product overview

Amicogen is a South Korean industrial biotechnology company offering a diversified portfolio centered on specialty enzymes, bio-sourcing materials, and protein purification resins. The company's core technology platform is i·DNA evolution™, a gene evolution technology used to develop specialty enzymes for industrial and pharmaceutical applications. The product portfolio spans specialty enzymes (industrial and pharmaceutical grades), bio-sourcing materials (beauty care, health care, nature care), protein purification resins (for biologics and biosimilars manufacturing), cell culture media, and eco-friendly antibiotics. Additionally, Amicogen operates KNUTRA, a health functional food brand, and provides ODM/OEM manufacturing services for health products. The company serves the biopharmaceutical, healthcare, and industrial biotechnology sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Knutra (케이뉴트라): Health supplement brand offering enzyme-based functional food and nutritional products for lifelong healthcare
• ARTILYSIN
• iDNA evolution™

Products and services

• Specialty Enzymes (특수효소) Industrial and pharmaceutical-grade specialty enzymes developed using Amicogen's proprietary i·DNA evolution™ gene evolution technology, including the CX Enzyme Method for 7-ACA production, sold to pharmaceutical, food, and chemical manufacturers.
• Bio-sourcing Materials (바이오신소재) Enzyme-based bioactive raw materials with scientific evidence and standards, spanning beauty care, healthcare, and nature care applications, used as ingredients for health functional food and cosmetic manufacturers.
• Protein Purification Resin (단백질정제레진) Customized protein purification resins for biologics and biosimilar antibody purification, offered in Affinity, Ion-Exchange, Immobilized Metal, Size Exclusion, Active Column, GoBio Mini, OptioBio, and Ligand Protein variants for pharmaceutical customers.
• KNUTRA Health Functional Foods (케이뉴트라) KNUTRA health functional food brand offering enzyme-based bioactive materials for lifetime health, including collagen peptide products, sold directly to consumers via knutra.com e-commerce and SkinMed online shop.
• ODM/OEM Services Custom development and manufacturing services for health functional foods using Amicogen's enzyme technology and bio-sourcing materials, offered to other brands seeking scientifically validated bioactive ingredients.
• Cell Culture Media (세포배양배지) Cell culture media for biopharmaceutical production, with both powder and liquid formulations, manufactured at the Songdo facility and certified under ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, representing Korea's first domestically produced cell culture media applied to commercial antibody production.
• Eco-friendly Antibiotics (친환경 항생제) Antibiotics manufactured using improved strains developed through Amicogen's proprietary CX Enzyme Method technology, representing environmentally sustainable pharmaceutical production with reduced CO2 emissions versus conventional chemical synthesis.

Quantifiable outcome

• First domestically produced cell culture media applied to actual commercial antibody production processes in Korea

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KBIOHealth (Osong Advanced Medical Industry Promotion Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 August 2026Amicogen signed a purchase contract for cell culture media with KBIOHealth following performance evaluations under the Ministry of Health and Welfare's bio raw material user testing support project. This is the first tangible outcome from the MOU signed in May, marking a step toward reducing Korea's reliance on foreign cell culture media in biopharmaceutical production. The domestically produced cell culture media will be applied to actual commercial antibody production processes.
• Lysando AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2023Strategic partner for Endolysin wound treatment product ARTILYSIN® research and development. Lysando AG is a Green Pharma company that has collaborated with Amicogen on technology transfer and stock exchange. Together they develop sustainable biotech innovations considering humans and environment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Codexis: Codexis engineers specialty enzymes and biocatalysts using proprietary gene/protein evolution platforms for pharmaceutical and industrial applications — directly parallel to Amicogen's i·DNA evolution™ technology and product portfolio.
• Novonesis (formerly Novozymes): Global leader in industrial enzymes and specialty proteins spanning food, pharma, and green chemistry — comparable to Amicogen's specialty enzyme and bio-material portfolio with far larger scale.
• Amano Enzyme: Japanese specialty enzyme manufacturer serving pharmaceutical, food, and industrial markets with both industrial- and pharmaceutical-grade enzymes — direct overlap with Amicogen's specialty enzymes business.
• AB Enzymes: Specialty enzyme producer for food, feed, and industrial applications — comparable product breadth and customer segments to Amicogen's industrial enzyme offerings.
• IFF (DuPont Industrial Biosciences): Major industrial enzyme and bioprocessing player with broad enzyme portfolio across pharma, food, and consumer — broad incumbent with overlapping specialty enzyme lines.

Broad incumbents

• Cytiva (Danaher): Global bioprocessing leader supplying protein purification resins, cell culture media, and biomanufacturing equipment — directly competes with Amicogen's bioprocessing consumables business at much larger scale.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Gibco): Through Gibco and Patheon, supplies cell culture media and bioprocess solutions worldwide — significant competitor to Amicogen's cell culture media business for antibody and vaccine production.
• Merck KGaA / MilliporeSigma (Life Science): Biopharma supplies giant offering cell culture media, purification resins, and enzymes — major competitive incumbent to Amicogen's bioprocessing consumables, with global sales force and broad catalog.

Regional players

• Celltrion: Korean biosimilar and biopharma leader — comparable Korean biotech with significant cell culture media/protein purification consumables needs, making it a likely long-term customer and regional benchmark.
• Samsung Biologics: Korean CDMO and biopharma manufacturer — large-scale domestic bioprocessing customer/partner profile for Amicogen's media and resin offerings within Korea.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@amicogen

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amicogen