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[NA Eun-kyung, Edaily Reporter] On the Korean pharmaceutical and biotech market on the 16th, G2GBIO drew attention as its share price plunged despite announcing a license-out agreement. In contrast, AbproBio recorded two consecutive limit up sessions after trading resumed, while KANAPH Therapeutics made a hot debut on its first day on the Kosdaq.

Samsung Bioepis President Kyung-Ah Kim (center), EpisNexLab CEO Sung-Won Hong (left), and G2GBIO CEO Hee-Yong Lee pose for a photo after signing a contract for the joint development of a novel biologic drug and technology platform. (Source: G2GBIO)

G2GBIO: “License-Out Deal With Big Pharma Not Dropped”


G2GBIO fell 15.66 percent from the previous session to close at 100,200 won. The company had disclosed a license-out agreement, typically considered positive news, but its stock still posted a double digit decline. Earlier in the session, immediately after the disclosure, the share price surged to a new 52week high of 139,500 won.

The company announced that it had signed a joint research and development and exclusive license-out agreement with Samsung Bioepis. The agreement covers two candidates, including a long-acting semaglutide obesity treatment developed using the company’s microsphere-based long-acting drug delivery platform. The contract also includes preferential negotiation rights for up to three additional candidates in the future.

Market reaction, however, remained lukewarm. G2GBIO had previously said it signed material transfer agreements with Big Pharma companies in the United States and Europe and was undergoing factory inspections. Investors had been expecting a larger deal, and the announcement of a contract with Samsung Bioepis instead fell short of those expectations.

The contract terms also disappointed investors. According to the disclosure, the upfront payment, milestone payments and part of development costs may be refundable. It is uncommon for typical license-out agreements to include clauses requiring the return of upfront payments.

The companies did not disclose the contract amount, but the minimum value is estimated at more than 77 million won, equivalent to about 10 percent of G2GBIO’s revenue last year of 770 million won.

G2GBIO dismissed market concerns, saying negotiations with Big Pharma partners have not been halted.

“Around the market, there seems to be a view that the joint semaglutide development deal with Company A was dropped because of the Samsung Bioepis agreement,” a company official said. “Separate from the semaglutide license out to Samsung Bioepis, discussions with Company A have moved to the stage of negotiating new substances.”

The official added that negotiations remain possible for new candidates or combination candidates that include semaglutide.

KANAPH Therapeutics Makes Hot Kosdaq Debut

KANAPH Therapeutics rose 153 percent from its offering price on its first day of Kosdaq trading. The stock showed strong gains despite the release of lock-up restrictions on 40.69 percent of total listed shares on the listing day.

Most of the shares released from lock-up on the listing day were held by strategic investors. Because only half of their holdings were subject to lock-up, the remaining half became available for trading on the first day. Analysts said large-scale selling is unlikely in the near term given the nature of strategic investors.

“A significant portion of the shares released to the market on the first day were held by strategic investors,” an industry source said. “They are unlikely to be sold in large quantities in the short term.”

KANAPH’s key momentum lies in license-out opportunities. According to its securities registration statement, major events this year include a potential license-out of immune-oncology candidate KNP-503 and the entry of KNP-504, previously licensed to Yuhan Corporation, into Phase 1 clinical trials.

KNP-301, a treatment candidate for age related macular degeneration, has also signed a material transfer agreement with a global pharmaceutical company and is currently in license-out discussions. The MTA for KNP-503 was signed in September last year. Considering that it typically takes one to two years after an MTA is signed for a license-out decision to be made, a conclusion could emerge within the year.

KANAPH expects revenue of 4.9 billion won and an operating loss of 10.6 billion won this year. However, milestone revenue could be generated if dosing of the first patient begins in the clinical trial currently underway with Yuhan Corporation.

Can AbproBio Break the Nasdaq Curse?

AbproBio closed at 1,859 won on the day, up 30 percent from the previous session. Trading in AbproBio had been suspended from Feb. 20 to March 11. On March 12, the first day trading resumed, the stock briefly fell, but it then recorded two consecutive limit-up sessions on March 13 and the 16th. The rally came despite the company’s challenging management situation.

AbproBio disclosed that it raised about 4 billion won through a third-party allotment capital increase and that the largest shareholder would change from the Polymath Investment Association to Returns through the issuance. The Polymath Investment Association is owned by CEO Jae-Yong Lee.

AbproBio was originally a factory machinery company called Ujiint that listed on the Kosdaq in 2015. The company changed its name in 2019 after announcing its entry into the biotech sector. At the time, Ujiint appointed Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Robert Langer as an inside director and granted him stock options as part of efforts to expand into the biotech business. Langer is a globally renowned scholar who also participated in founding Moderna.

The company later expanded its business by signing a joint development agreement for antibody therapeutics with Celltrion. Through its subsidiary AbproBio International (ABI), it also listed Abpro Holdings on the Nasdaq.

However after the listing the company faced declining share prices and financial burdens, putting its continued Nasdaq listing at risk. The parent company AbproBio also faced the possibility of being designated as a management watch list company after its capital impairment ratio exceeded 50 percent.

Nasdaq made a conditional listing maintenance decision for Abpro Holdings in November last year. If the company fails to meet the requirements within the specified period, the delisting process will resume immediately.

Asked about maintaining the Nasdaq listing, an AbproBio official said, “We filed an appeal with Nasdaq in early March and we understand it may take time before the result is announced.”

Several Korean biotech companies have attempted to enter Nasdaq, but successful cases remain limited. Many firms, including pH Bio, have eventually been delisted due to weak share performance or financial deterioration. The market is watching whether Abpro Holdings can break what some call the Nasdaq curse for Korean biotech ventures.

Meanwhile, shortly after the recent surge in its share price, AbproBio disclosed on the 16th that it would additionally issue 3 billion won worth of convertible bonds.

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