SK Biopharm earns top ESG rating for 3rd consecutive year, a first among Korean pharma firms

SK Biopharm has become the first South Korean pharmaceutical company to receive the highest rating in the MSCI ESG assessment for three consecutive years, the company announced Monday.

SK Biopharm said it received an AAA rating — the top tier — in MSCI's 2026 ESG evaluation. No other domestic pharmaceutical company has maintained the AAA rating for three straight years.

The MSCI ESG assessment benchmarks a company's ability to manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities against global industry peers. SK Biopharm earned the top score even as MSCI tightened its methodology, raising disclosure transparency requirements and data verification standards.

In this year's evaluation, SK Biopharm received globally leading scores across three key assessment areas: corporate behavior, human capital development, and product quality and safety. Evaluators praised the company's compliance framework and ethics management infrastructure, including tax and accounting transparency. Its membership in Rx-360, a global initiative to strengthen pharmaceutical supply chain quality, and its company-wide Good Practice standards education program also contributed positively to the result.

The company's new drug business also translated into measurable social value. Global cumulative prescriptions of cenobamate — its independently developed epilepsy treatment — have surpassed 300,000 patients. SK Biopharm said the total social value it created last year reached 498.7 billion won ($370 million), of which 452.4 billion won came from social outcomes generated through its products and services, including improvements in patients' quality of life.

The three consecutive AAA ratings reflect recognition of the company's sustainability credentials — achieved after successfully establishing a direct sales operation in the United States in the highly competitive global central nervous system drug market, while also fully meeting the increasingly stringent non-financial evaluation criteria of global institutional investors.

"Maintaining the top MSCI ESG rating for three consecutive years — a first among Korean pharmaceutical companies — reflects recognition of our transparent board-centered governance, responsible management, and commitment to quality and safety," said SK Biopharm President Lee Dong-hoon. "We will continue to expand social value through innovative new drugs and solidify our growth foundation through ESG management that meets global standards."