REVO

CEO Joon Koo Kim is quoted as saying that “I would not have taken on the challenge if it were easy”

Interview: CEO of meerecompany, the first Korean company to develop laparoscopic surgical robots

by Sang Chul Lee | Report entered on 10 Mar. 2021 [09:00 a.m.]

【Whosaeng Shinbo】 A leading Korean company in the display semiconductor equipment markets, both domestic and internationally has challenged the laparoscopic surgical robot market monopolized by foreign companies. Although many questioned its chances of success, based on its commitment to “save the people,” the company succeeded in product development and gained the spotlight in the laparoscopic surgical robot market after 10 years of research.

Joon Koo Kim, CEO of meerecompany, started research and development in 2007 and created “Revo-i,” the first Korean-made laparoscopic surgical robot. CEO Kim is a driving force and the epitome of perseverance. In particular, several companies, including leading domestic conglomerates, tried to develop a domestic laparoscopic surgical robot, but meerecompany was the only company that continued research and development until it succeeded. In recent years, the market share is gradually expanding, and the government has recognized the company as among the best in terms of materials, parts, and equipment.

CEO Kim has attributed his determination and motivation to his late father. In particular, he inherited his father's entrepreneurial spirit, who emphasized corporate social responsibility while demonstrating leadership by challenging and striving to realize new businesses with an intrepid attitude. The motto of meerecompany’s surgical robot business is “Better care for more patients.” When talking to CEO Joon Koo Kim, who is determined to avoid “doing business that just anyone can do,” the expression on his face clearly shows what he thinks about the future of laparoscopic surgical robots.

We met Joon Koo Kim, CEO of meerecompany, who is leading an environment of transparent corporate management as a member of the community and is striving to fulfill the company's responsibilities to the nation and society. He told us about his beliefs in the surgical robot business and future development plans.

▲ CEO Joon Koo Kim

Pushing for the future business based on the perseverance and drive he inherited from his father

Developed surgical robot “Revo-i” after 10 years of R&D efforts in pursuit of the vision of “saving people”

Q: Can you briefly introduce meerecompany?

A: meerecompany was established in 1984, and its main business has been manufacturing display semiconductor equipment ever since. The equipment business is still one of our main businesses. We started the surgical robot business in 2007 and successfully commercialized it. Another thing that we're focusing on is the 3D sensor business. We started out with the display semiconductor equipment and have successfully diversified into the laparoscopic surgical robot and 3D sensor businesses.

Q: Has the display semiconductor business helped the company become successful in the laparoscopic surgical robot market?

A: Yes. Laparoscopic surgical robots are robotics, so there are similarities with display semiconductor equipment. Since robotics control is designed to deal with areas that humans can't handle, display semiconductor equipment has proven to be more difficult. On the other hand, laparoscopic surgical robots are much more complex to control because they work with four arms which require coordination among each other, entailing various possible scenarios.

When the development started in 2007, the engineers in the control department laid the foundation for the laparoscopic surgical robot. However, all three businesses are now successfully commercialized, and they're all being operated as separate organizations.

meerecompany manufactures several kinds of display equipment, and the main equipment among them is used to process the outer edges of the panels used in IT devices such as mobile phones and laptops. These devices require a high level of controllability.

Q: What made the company first interested in laparoscopic surgical robots, which is a separate field from display semiconductor equipment?

A: Up until 2005 when the company was first listed on KOSDAQ, was only in the equipment business. Immediately after the IPO, a severe down-cycle happened in the display equipment business, and it was difficult for the company to break through this market cycle due to the nature of the order-taking. In an attempt to survive in this unpredictable market, the management pursued business that could bring continued growth while supplementing the market cycle in the equipment industry. At the same time, it had a certain standard when selecting a new business, which was to do “meaningful business related to human life.” We did not want to do anything that other companies could easily do. In other words, we had to find a business with a high entry barrier. With this in mind, we selected laparoscopic surgical robots as an alternative business that meets our goal of finding a sector that is different enough from our existing business to supplement the market cycle.

2005 was when the first laparoscopic surgery was introduced in Korea. This was in the early days, so no one could predict how fast this field. My late father thought that since surgery is performed by humans, anyway, there will come a time when humans and machines can work together to improve the quality of surgery. When he first started this business, he had the belief that the surgical robot market will develop further when the robots help the doctor perform laparoscopic surgery with greater ease and comfort, improving patients’ treatment results and the safety of surgical procedures.

Blazing trails through “better care for more patients”

Q: Your father sounds like a true visionary.

A: Yes, he was. As I said, he wanted to start a business with a high entrance barrier, and it had to be future-oriented. Although he could not predict the extent of its success, he invested with confidence that the trend would someday happen. The company's motto when launching the product is “Better care for more patients,” which implies multiple meanings and market conditions.

First, since laparoscopic surgical robots help doctors in operations, the quality of surgery will be improved. Furthermore, it will help to provide high-quality medical care to more patients. However, the laparoscopic surgical robot market is unique, and it's been dominated by a certain company since it was first developed in 2007. Therefore, it was difficult to reflect the needs of the operating doctor or hospital effectively and efficiently, and there were few patients who could benefit from laparoscopic surgical robots since they were only introduced to limited tertiary hospitals. However, even in this monopolistic environment, the market has shown tremendous growth, growing at an annual rate of 20%, and it is still growing significantly. Therefore, we wanted to quickly release the robotic surgical equipment, which we started developing in 2007, and devote ourselves to research and development to help more patients by introducing it to many hospitals.

Q: Your path must have been tough. I also heard hospitals have been forced to use those products from the company that basically holds the monopoly, even if they're not satisfied with them.

A: When a company has a monopoly over a market, its flexibility is greatly reduced. As a new entrant in the market, meerecompany considers the laparoscopic surgical robot as a platform and operates it as an open ecosystem. Competitors keep all the info about their parts, surgical tools, and accessories as their internal information. What they have is a kind of a “closed ecosystem.” In terms of “medical devices,” this is inevitable due to the requirements for certification and various regulations. However, meerecompany is creating a platform business. For example, if a company holds more advanced technology and has market demand for it, and above all else, if the company is in line with our motto by envisioning providing high-quality medical services to more patients, we will actively engage in technology development with it.

Selected as Excellent Manufacturer of Materials, Parts, and Equipment and Advocate of Corporate Social Responsibilities

Q: Your company has been selected as an excellent manufacturer of material, parts, and equipment. How does that feel?

A: I am grateful that our company was selected in the sector that the government puts values on. I think we were recognized because we had such a strong focus on our original goals and vision, namely, equipment, sensors, and laparoscopic surgical robots. This is very significant for the company. It was in this same context that we were selected as an excellent family-friendly company by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. It is important for a company to achieve good performance, but it will be difficult to sustain that unless the quality of life and work environment of employees also improve. We were able to be selected as an excellent family-friendly company because we continued to value our culture, work environment, and quality of life for our people.

Q: meerecompany is known for its advocacy for corporate social responsibilities and cares for a better quality of life. Was this something that motivated it to develop surgical robots in the first place?

A: If the culture of meerecompany can be summed up in a few words, those words would be “community culture.” Here, the scope of the community is important. It primarily includes the people who work for the company, and more broadly, their family members. The concept of this community could be extended to the company's customers, as well as the patients who are the end users of laparoscopic surgical robots.

My father also extended the scope of this community to encompass the society that we live in. When he first envisioned a business that saves people's lives, the actual scope of the community expands to society. He wanted to do something meaningful that could contribute not only to the company but also to society.

Q: That is not something that can be done lightly, considering that the primary goal of a company is to make profits.

A: Correct. However, even if it takes more time and is more difficult to achieve, we as a company need to do what’s valuable for society to become worthwhile.

We sell customized laparoscopic surgical robot “programs” instead of “systems”

Q: What makes Revo-i stand out compared to its competition?

A: Among many things, Revo-i has a clear advantage because it is a laparoscopic surgical robot. As the surgeon can operate with greater ease and comfort with Revo-i than using conventional laparoscopic instruments, it reduces the time and bleeding from the procedure. In addition, it helps to increase the accuracy of surgery and to speed up the patient's recovery because the movement of a robot can be more delicately controlled, compared to human hands, by magnifying very fine details.

The advantage of Revo-i is that we do not simply sell the system but provide a laparoscopic surgical robot program that considers everything from the perspective of customers, doctors, and patients. In each hospital, the situation is different, with some hospitals introducing robots for the first time and others using existing competitors' products. Our goal is to give more patients the opportunity to get robotic surgery, so we want to see doctors use it as much as possible. To help achieve this, the first goal was to create a differentiated customized training program for our customers. We then implemented a user interface where the doctor can use the product more conveniently. This supports doctors who used existing laparoscopic surgical robot products, or doctors who performed laparoscopic and open surgery, to easily adapt and use Revo-i.

We are collaborating with high-tech companies in the U.S., India, Japan, and Sweden to bring in excellent hardware, instruments, and software from any company around the world using meerecompany's “open ecosystem.” Based on our internally developed core technology, we are working with external parties for the ancillary technology that can increase added value, rather than developing 100% of all the technologies necessary to drive the laparoscopic surgical robot.

Our next focus area is open R&D, through which we can reflect customer needs. Because each doctor has their own style and methodology when it comes to operating, each doctor may have different expectations and needs in regard to laparoscopic surgical robots. It is difficult to reflect all of these needs in one product. However, the company is actively working on anything that can be developed within the desired time with a reasonable level of investment.

Q: If a doctor who used a certain product recommends it, then we need to actively cooperate.

A: Although we need to take a conservative approach to R&D safety and certification, we are quite open to which technology areas to research. Therefore, we are actively introducing external technologies and trying to reflect the needs of doctors as much as possible.

Q: Can you tell us about a recent feat that your company achieved in the surgical robot business?

A: One of the biggest achievements over the past year has been the expansion of proven indications. This is meaningful because it marked our entry into the gynecological market. The areas where robotic surgery is frequently performed include the urinary system, digestive system, large intestine, and gynecology, which will be our next focus. The potential of the gynecological realm is enormous. The fertility rate is gradually falling, and the population aging is happening very quickly, so the number of obstetric patients in obstetrics and gynecology will gradually decrease. Nevertheless, the number of patients in the gynecology field will increase. Therefore, there will definitely be a demand for robotic surgery in the treatment of diseases in the gynecological field. It is meaningful that the product was introduced by targeting this projected need. One clinical study was conducted at Severance Hospital. We also conducted our own clinical study on indications for which there was little or no existing Revo-i clinical data. Although it was delayed due to COVID-19, the study was successfully completed. As these two activities are completed, we have secured clinical research data not only for the indications targeted in the pre-approval clinical trial but also for other indications. At the same time, we continue to enter the overseas markets, having signed a contract with Russia last year, and will soon supply the systems to other nations.

Demand for gynecological surgical robots to grow… Efforts for entering the overseas market continue

Q: As demands for gynecological disease treatment are expected to grow, it looks like your company was right to target that particular field.

A: In the urology department, one robotic surgical device performs nearly 300 cases per year. Laparoscopic surgery is also very rare. In comparison, obstetrics and gynecology still have a slightly higher rate of laparoscopic surgery. For that reason, future growth potential is much higher in gynecology.

Q: How do you plan to lead the surgical robot business in the future?

A: The surgical robot business division is only starting to generate sales. However, the size and growth potential in the global market can be expected to grow as we go forward. The company plans to invest heavily in R&D and research personnel. Also, we should target general hospitals that introduce many laparoscopic surgical robots. We will help more obstetrics and gynecology hospitals and semi-general hospitals to introduce laparoscopic surgical robots to provide high-quality services for more patients.

Then, there is the overseas market. About 6,000 laparoscopic surgical robots are in use worldwide. Of these, about 100 are being used in Korea, which is much less than expected. It may be because our competitors focused solely on major hospitals. Nevertheless, since the domestic market is relatively small, it is reasonable to actively pursue overseas expansion. We have already prepared for this and have signed contracts with some countries. We are targeting regions where there is a demand to switch to laparoscopic surgical robots, but that have low penetration by the competition. In addition, Korea has the highest level of surgical skills, so when Korean equipment is exported, exchanges between doctors, training programs that have already been established in Korea, and the foundation for advanced robotic surgery will also be introduced when we enter overseas markets. As part of that effort, we were selected for the training center construction project, together with Severance Hospital. This will contribute to creating a more systematic, customized robot surgery program.

Q: Using laparoscopic surgical robots to educate medical students on surgical techniques would be of great help.

A: There are not many Korean applicants who apply for the surgery department. Foreign fellows from the Middle East or Southeast Asia are filling the gap. If these doctors receive education from top-class Korean surgeons and return to their home country to perform surgery using Korean equipment and programs, they will be able to help us achieve further growth.

Q: They can be seen as potential customers who will use laparoscopic surgical robots in the future. In the long term, if we sell products and programs based on product performance, system, and clinical evidence, we will be able to gain competitiveness in major hospitals, as well as specialized hospitals.

A: Yes. That is one of our differentiated advantages of our company. Doing so will create more opportunities for interaction between surgeons, which will help with the incorporation of market demands. We can then reflect those demands in our products.

Product launch is a new start for…. Continuing efforts for more patient benefits

Q: Is there anything you expect from the medical professionals or the government?

A: The motto of “Better care for more patients” illustrates our company’s future direction. For better care, first, we need continuous research and development. Secondly, active technical cooperation with domestic and foreign competent companies are essential. Thirdly, it is necessary to quickly reflect the skill and feedback of the doctor regarding the equipment. When these three are achieved, better care will be possible. In addition, we will work tirelessly to provide benefits to more patients by distributing more advanced products not only to major hospitals in Korea, but also to small and medium-sized hospitals, specialized hospitals, and even overseas hospitals.

Article: http://www.whosaeng.com/125290