AbClon shares soar on KOSDAQ debut
[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s antibody therapy developer AbClon’s shares jumped as much as 30 percent following its debut on the junior KOSDAQ market Sept. 18.
Investors are banking on AbClon’s diversified portfolio of antibody-based oncology treatments which the company develops with Swedish firm Atlantis Therapeutics AB.
“The company has a strong ability to expand pipelines and its growth potential of technology transfer and technological development for new drug development have been recognized,” BNK Investment & Securities analyst Choi Jong-kyung said.
The stock opened up 100 percent at 20,000 won (US$17.75) before rising as high as 26,000 won, giving it a market value of 176.8 billion won.
When it was listed on Sept. 7, company stocks were subscribed 799.09 times after the offer price was set at 10,000 won -- top of the targeted range.
Its flagship product is AC101, Monoclonal antibodies for treating gastric and breast cancer, which the company licensed out to a Chinese company Shanghai Henlius Biotech for 1.17 billion won upfront plus another 18.1 billion won in sales milestones last year.
By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)