Exclusive visit to Purgo | South Korea's "Intel"-level bone meal

Basic disciplines, basic research, and fundamental ideals

Those skills that need time to cultivate

Perhaps this is the underlying logic of dental commercial civilization.

Foreword

South Korea, with a total population of approximately 52 million and a land area roughly the same as Zhejiang Province in my country, boasts a dental implant penetration rate 2-3 times higher than the average of developed countries. How did a country that once heavily relied on imported dental implants manage to turn this around by relying on domestically produced products?

What is the elemental force within it?

From the visible to the invisible, this time we chose to visit Purgo, the "Intel" of the South Korean dental implant field.

There is another reason for choosing Purgo: In October last year, Songbai Investment announced that it had acquired a controlling stake in Purgo, and Songbai, as its new mentor, also officially brought it into the Chinese market.

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What kind of company is this?

Why did both sides choose to work in the same industry?

Caption: Purgo team & senior executives of Pine Investment

The following is an exclusive interview with Good Teeth magazine. We also contacted Mr. Kang Ho Chang, the founder of Purgo, and Mr. Yoon Chang-bae, the head of the Korean business of Songbai Investment, in an attempt to explore the growth experience of this "household name" in the Korean medical industry.

Purgo's main product—bone powder—is not the most dazzling product in the entire oral care industry; in fact, it seems to be a "niche" product.

While dental implants are indeed a hot trend worldwide, bone powder, much like Intel, is merely a behind-the-scenes contributor. Fortunately, in recent years, more and more people have begun to realize that the differences between various chips are truly vast.

Perhaps even Kang Ho Chang himself didn't expect that he would be recognized by so many more people twenty years later.

Purgo Biologics is a dental bone regeneration company headquartered in South Korea, specializing in the research, development, production, and sales of safe biomaterials for dental soft tissue and bone regeneration. Addressing diverse oral tissue regeneration needs, they have developed a full range of bone regeneration biomaterials, including THE Graft bone powder, THE Graft collagen, THE Cover absorbable collagen membrane, OpenTex and OpenTex TR non-absorbable collagen membranes, and Biotex® PTFE sutures. In 2020, they received investment from Songbai Holdings, officially entering the Chinese market.

From scientific research to entrepreneurship

since 1999 · Purge

Founder Kang Ho Chang originally studied humanities. When he entered the dental field, it was a period of rapid growth and expansion for the South Korean dental industry, but it also experienced the early stages of the Chinese market: everything from implants and dental chairs to small consumables relied on imports from Europe and the United States...

Caption: Maintaining communication with doctors and specialists

"When I first entered this field, I read a lot of papers. At that time, I communicated a lot with dentists for product development, which was all my enjoyment, so I didn't feel any difficulty at first. The real problem was that I encountered some obstacles in basic scientific research. So later I decided to pursue further studies and chose to pursue a PhD in materials science."

During the research and development process and through communication with doctors, he gradually realized that in the field of dentistry, the best products are those that respect clinical needs.

"At that time, I decided to research, develop, and produce recycled materials—although they are invisible, they determine the success of implantation surgery. To make them more suitable for the human body, easier to use, and to solve pain points in clinical practice, we started developing THE Graft."

Caption: THE Graft was showcased at the 2021 South China Exhibition.

Research and development is about battling yourself.

since 1999 · Purge

"Making a hypothesis" is a crucial element in both science and philosophy. But actually developing a material that is more compatible with the human body took the entire team five years. Those five years were probably the time when the Purgo team tasted the bitterness of failure.

From searching for and reading papers, organizing them, brainstorming ideas, conducting experiments, to compiling results, over five years, they accumulated stacks of "experimental notes." These thick text records are like a team's shared research diary, recording possibilities and refuting them.

As Kang Ho Chang's memories deepened, he recalled the period when the team was "repeatedly battling with themselves" during the research and development phase:

"We've been doing the same thing over and over again for five years, and we've lost count of how many notebooks of these experiments we've filled. Look at Coca-Cola, we're very familiar with it now, aren't we? But during the development process, it was an innovation, just like THE Graft was back then... And then, just like in a novel, one day we shouted Eureka, and the product was a success."

We don't know if this is like some scenes in "The Stars of Humanity": accompanied by the formulation of conjectures, the difficult progress of the process, and even many moments of self-doubt and wavering in the dead of night, but in the end all the conjectures were verified.

But the one who truly validated the "success" was Professor Cho Gue Sung of the Department of Periodontology at Yonsei University's College of Dentistry, who had already retired at the time.

"After using the product, the professor asked, 'This wasn't made by you? It must be imported, right?' Because the product quality was so good, the professor simply couldn't believe that we had developed it ourselves." When the Purgo team visited the professor with the completed prototype, the professor's surprised expression was etched in the team's memory. For a research and development team, this was a milestone.

Later, Purgo's first commercially available and widely recognized bone meal, THE Graft, underwent clinical trials in hospitals, confirming its significant clinical efficacy. The relevant experimental data was published in SCI journals in 2017 and 2018. Subsequently, Purgo's recycled materials have been widely used in Europe and America, and many scholars have conducted detailed studies on them.

#THE Graft bone powder, a natural porous bone mineral matrix, possesses high porosity, excellent biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and ease of handling. Due to its natural structure, similar to the physical and chemical mechanisms of human bone mineralization matrix, it can be well absorbed during the implantation and healing process.

Dealing with the market through quality.

since 1999 · Purge

The product was considered a success, and after Biobone was officially launched on the market, the market was full of praise for its quality.

However, most research teams entering the market for the first time will face new challenges: the market not only considers quality, but also forces manufacturers to lower prices or compromise on quality standards in order to achieve faster market growth.

This is like a new "battle." South Korea already has one of the highest dental implant penetration rates in the world, and its market for dental implants and related products is mature. This also means that the market environment is extremely competitive.

If the product doesn't have sufficient strength, it's a typical "buyer's market".

• In 2018, the number of dental implants in my country was only 17 per 10,000 people, while in South Korea it was as high as 622 per 10,000 people in 2017. Even under the influence of the pandemic, the number of dental implants in 2020 was nearly 500 per 10,000 people.

Kang Ho Chang believes that scientific research and product quality cannot be "compromised".

Therefore, Purgo later participated in international dental exhibitions such as the International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne, Germany, and the European Association for Osteointegration (EAO) Congress to discuss and exchange ideas with dental experts from all over the world about bone regeneration products—not about quantity or price, but about quality and effectiveness.

Purgo at IDS

Purgo at EAO (right image)

In fact, when dealing with the market, one has to balance price on one hand and quality on the other; every individual and every team is choosing their own approach.

However, if market competition is merely a price competition, then the speed at which people's quality of life improves may very well become a bargaining chip for negotiation and bargaining between manufacturers and between markets.

So often, having a strong conviction isn't necessarily a bad thing—at least Purgo turned the tables in this way: "When quality and service take precedence, price becomes irrelevant...and from a certain point onward, market sentiment began to shift to 'Purgo products are of excellent quality,' 'Purgo sales staff are always ready to answer any questions,' and 'Purgo only cares about quality.'"

Consider that in Eastern culture, "shrewdness" and "compromise" are never words of praise. What Easterners value in their genes is "persistence" and "long-termism," which is also a profound wisdom of the East.

One person walks fast, a group of people walk far.

since 1999 · Purge

In 2020, in order to take the company to a higher level and promote global market development, Kang Ho Chang began to look for external partners. After contacting many international dental manufacturers and investment institutions, he finally chose PineBridge Investments.

The creators also asked Mr. Yoon Chang-bae, the person in charge of Songbai Investment's Korean business, why they chose such a seemingly "niche" company, given Songbai's consistent "bold and decisive" style. This was truly puzzling.

Songbai's response was relatively simple: "We highly value basic scientific research and respect oral medicine; everything is based on medicine. There are still many unresolved issues in the field of bone regeneration, and we see in the Purgo team a dedication to solving these issues and an unyielding pursuit of quality."

This may stem from a mutual appreciation between the two teams, who came together because of their shared passion and values.

Pine Investments' Global Footprint

It is reported that THE Graft bone powder from BioBone has obtained an import medical device registration certificate in China. Following its acquisition of a controlling stake in Purgo, Songbai Investment will promote the development of Purgo's bone regeneration products in the Chinese market and leverage Songbai Investment's industrial network advantages to extensively collaborate with domestic and international companies. Simultaneously, Songbai Investment will establish a clinical research team to conduct clinical research projects with leading dental universities and accumulate clinical data.

Corporate Social Responsibility

since 1999 · Purge

Actually, Good Teeth had received Purgo products earlier than many industry professionals and consulted many implant experts. During an art exhibition at the South China Expo this year, they even borrowed Bio-Bone for their creations, which many people loved and took photos with.

At the time, we only knew that the company was involved in social welfare activities, but what really surprised us was that very few dental companies consider environmental issues, especially reducing plastic use and carbon emissions, while Purgo had considered this very early on and implemented it.

At the end of this interview, we also formally asked Kang Ho Chang the question, "Why do you participate in social welfare activities?"

"From the very beginning, Health, Beauty & Environment have been our most important goals. No matter how profitable a business may be, we will not pursue it if it does not benefit these three goals. We maintain a participatory attitude with this mindset: for the next generation, for the planet, and ultimately for humanity. Starting with small things like reducing packaging materials, Purgo has fully engaged in philanthropic endeavors."

This is a company's assessment of the commercial ethics of the dental industry. Many people talk about corporate social responsibility and brand reputation, but these are often ranked after the importance of marketing. However, truly visionary companies have quietly implanted the gene of "social value" from their inception.

Postscript

Looking back at the history of entrepreneurship, there is no shortage of stories of scientists starting businesses, and there are even many highlights.

When scientists start their own businesses, it means that there are always people who are not satisfied with the status quo and want to create, improve, and find better alternatives from the source of the industry—this has always been an important driving force for the industry and even human society to move forward.

When a research-based enterprise reaches version 2.0, it means that someone must recognize the spirit of scientists and be willing to work together for a longer period of time.

If "the shining moment of humankind" represents a historical milestone for an individual, then "the shining journey of humankind" is perhaps the historical journey of passing the torch from one generation to the next.

22 years ago, the young Kang Ho Chang probably never imagined that his obsession with Purgo would be recognized by the team, the market, and investors, and with more and more partners supporting him, starting from Gyeonggi Province and expanding to the global market.

Best wishes to Purgo.

I also hope that the spirit of more scientists will be recognized.

P.S.: In July 2021, Purgo will also participate in the 12th National Oral Implantology Conference hosted by the Oral Implantology Committee of the Chinese Stomatological Association. Through a booth and academic conference, Purgo will share its cutting-edge research results on oral regenerative materials with top implantology experts from home and abroad. Those who are interested can go and learn more.

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Interview by: XUE | Written by: Yaoguang

Planning: TING | Editing: Ayao

Legal Counsel: Ouyang | Proofreader: CC

Producer | YUE

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[Disclaimer]

The above information is derived from publicly available sources and may contain inaccuracies. It is for reference only. This article does not constitute investment or decision-making advice for any individual. Good Teeth Pro assumes no responsibility for any losses incurred as a result of using this information and reserves the right to the final interpretation of this content.