Pet health: Korean genetic testing firms' new target market

South Korean direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies are rushing to the veterinary diagnostics market where they see greater potential growth than the human diagnostics market, according to industry sources on June 19. 

Clinomics Inc., a secondary bourse Kosdaq-listed biotech, is set to launch dog DNA testing service Dognomics DTC in the second half of 2022. If a dog owner collects buccal epithelial cells by using a kit it is sent and sends the envelope back to Clinomics, the firm will analyze 237 genetic factors across around 130 species – the genetic factors includes the dog’s pedigree, genetic disease mutations and expected weight. Clinomics launched the service in early June and is aiming to achieve more than 10 billion won ($7.7 million) in US sales for four years.

In addition, Theragen Bio Co. offers dog and cat diagnostics services with local pet healthcare firm PitterPetter Inc. Another biotech Macrogen Inc. operates a similar service, myPetgene, which identifies perceived vulnerabilities and thus recommending diet and exercise. Eone Diganomics Genome Center (EDGC) Inc. is also gearing up to enter the vet diagnostics market and is building big data in animal genetics.

Korean biotechs are increasingly operating vet diagnostics services as they see great potential for growth and fewer regulations in the segment than human genetic testing. In South Korea, DTC genetic tests for humans are limited to healthcare factors such as body mass index (BMI), hair loss, skin aging and sleep habits – the tests can’t be conducted to identify disease-associated factors associated. Therefore, a number of Korean genetic diagnostics firms’ DTC tests focus on wellness such as diet and hair loss, despite their skills in genetic diagnosis of cancers, cardiovascular diseases and other chronic illnesses.

Korea’s DTC genetic testing market has limited potential for growth due to the regulations, according to industry sources. The market size in Korea is less than 1 billion won; the global DTC genetic testing market is expected to grow from 980 billion won in 2019 to 7.6 trillion won by 2028, according to global market research firm BIS Research.

The Korean government is considering easing the regulations on DTC genetic testing. It will determine whether to loosen the restrictions in the mid- to long term after assessing Macrogen’s ongoing research for clinical validation, a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said. Since 2021, Macrogen has conducted validation of DTC genetic testing to analyze psychological and habitual behavior changes and effects of disease prevention, as well as identify 13 diseases such as type 2 diabetes, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, coronary artery disease, stroke and others.  

Write to Sun-A Lee at suna@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.