[Edaily Reporter Yoo Jin-hee] Amid the ongoing concentration of investment in the semiconductor sector in the domestic stock market, the biotech sector has also shown a steady upward trend in value, led by companies with solid earnings and clear momentum. Amid the overall market warmth, investor sentiment appears to be focusing on promising stocks that have demonstrated tangible results and strong policy benefits rather than vague expectations. In particular, #JLK, #DTNCR, and #AngelRobotics—which recorded steep double-digit rallies on the list of top gainers on the 12th—captured the market’s attention by leading qualitative growth in the biotech sector.

JLK, Expectations for Earnings Growth... Driving the Bio Sector to the Top of the Gainers List

According to KG Zeroin MP DOCTOR, JLK, a company specializing in AI for stroke diagnosis, closed at 5,210 won—up 21.45% from the previous day—becoming the sector’s leading stock. DT&CRO, a full-cycle contract research organization (CRO) for new drug development, also closed at 2,670 won, up 15.09%, while Angel Robotics, a wearable robotics specialist, closed at 24,750 won, up 12.76%.

Unlike other tech stocks that surged simply by riding short-term thematic trends, these three companies have driven their share prices higher based on clear and substantial factors—such as massive institutional changes targeting the U.S. market, earnings turnarounds driven by infrastructure launches, and the securing of government-led mega-scale national projects. As a result, their long-term outlook is also receiving positive evaluations.

The external factor that triggered JLK’s recent rise is the deregulation measures in the U.S., the world’s largest healthcare market. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have begun full-scale implementation of the “RAPID” (Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device) program, a new track that significantly shortens the time required for innovative medical devices to gain local insurance coverage.

Previously, even after passing the rigorous FDA approval process, there was a barrier in the form of insurance reimbursement rates that meant it took several years for actual revenue to materialize in hospitals. However, with the introduction of RAPID, a parallel review system has been established where insurance coverage reviews proceed simultaneously with the approval process. As a result, insurance coverage decisions are announced nationwide on the very day of FDA approval, opening the door to securing reimbursed revenue across U.S. healthcare facilities as early as two months later.

JLK has already secured FDA approval for a total of seven AI-based stroke solutions, led by its large vessel occlusion (LVO) automatic detection solution ‘JLK-LVO,’ and has been working to enter the local reimbursement market. As a result, the company has been identified as the most direct beneficiary of this regulatory change.

News of business expansion in the domestic market has also added momentum. JLK recently announced that its self-developed brain CT perfusion imaging analysis solution, ‘JLK-CTP,’ has been officially designated for a deferral of the domestic New Medical Technology Assessment. With this deferral, the solution can immediately enter frontline medical settings as a non-reimbursed, non-clinical service without any upper limit restrictions. Given the precedent set by #Vuno’s ‘DeepCAS,’ which experienced explosive growth and generated billions of won in standalone revenue following its designation for evaluation deferral, the likelihood of a short-term earnings surge for JLK is also considered very high.

Furthermore, the company is accelerating its business-to-business (B2B) strategy to embed its AI solutions into the systems of global medical equipment manufacturers through ‘JOOMED,’ a multimodal large language model (LLM) platform specialized in medical imaging. As a result, the company is expected to achieve both short-term revenue expansion and medium-to-long-term profitability improvements simultaneously.

A JLK official stated, “We expect sales to rise as JLK-CTP demos are currently underway at numerous hospitals,” adding, “We will diversify our business model to pursue sales growth and improved profitability.”

Emerging from the tunnel of losses and entering the early stages of operating profit... ‘DT&CRO’ kicks off its turnaround

The strength in DT&CR’s stock price stems from the market’s growing recognition of solid indicators such as structural improvements and the normalization of earnings. According to independent research and market analysis, DT&CR is at the very beginning of a turning point, breaking the cycle of operating losses and entering a clear profit structure. The operating loss, which reached 11.3 billion won in 2024, was reduced by nearly half to approximately 5.7 billion won in 2025. Revenue surged 32.7% year-over-year to 47.7 billion won, demonstrating that the profit structure itself has fully stabilized at a higher level. The same trend is expected this year.

The primary driver of this profitability rebound is the normalization of the Efficacy and Safety Evaluation Center. The center’s utilization rate, which stood at 53.7% in 2024, soared to 74.9% in 2025, allowing the company to enter a phase where fixed costs are absorbed by revenue. With a current order backlog of 51.8 billion won, the company has also received high marks for the predictability and stability of its future performance.

DT&CRO is moving beyond the role of a simple clinical CRO to prominently showcase its capability to provide one-stop support for the entire new drug development process, including efficacy evaluation, GLP toxicity testing, biological sample analysis, and Phase 1–4 clinical trials and regulatory consulting.

The Pharmacokinetics (PK) and Pharmacodynamics (PD) Center, established with an investment of 23.8 billion won, is expected to establish itself as a high-value data hub that goes beyond simple testing services to provide clinical dose setting and new drug development strategy consulting. This implies that the improvement in profit margins resulting from increased utilization rates will be maximized. Furthermore, FDA consulting services provided in collaboration with Radius Research in the U.S. are playing a pivotal role as a key global sales channel, driving orders for subsequent toxicity studies and full-scale clinical trials.

An official from DT&CRO emphasized, “We are providing optimized solutions based on integrated services ranging from efficacy evaluation, toxicity testing, and analysis to PK/PD and clinical trials,” adding, “We will continue to build differentiated corporate value based on these integrated solutions.”

Mind-controlled bidirectional brain-robot interface... ‘Angel Robotics’ secures government-funded project

Angel Robotics saw strong buying interest from institutional and foreign investors following news that it had been selected as the sole lead institution for a major government-funded project receiving full government support. The project is part of the inter-ministerial advanced medical device R&D initiative led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, specifically the “Development and Commercialization of a Brain-to-Robot Full-Stack System Capable of Motor-Sensory Synchronization.”

The total project budget for this initiative, which will run for approximately 6 years and 9 months until 2032, amounts to 23.547 billion won. Of this, Angel Robotics will directly receive 6.99 billion won in government-funded R&D grants, a sum equivalent to 21.4% of the company’s equity capital. Ten of Korea’s top-tier research institutions, including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, are participating in this project to enhance its technological reliability.

The core of this project is a technology that implants high-resolution brain electrodes into the bodies of individuals with full-body or limb paralysis. The moment the user thinks about walking or manipulating an object, AI interprets that command in real time to drive a wearable robot.

In particular, the project aims to implement “bidirectional motor-sensory synchronization” technology, which goes beyond simple one-way control based on thought. This technology transmits pressure and position data generated when the robot steps on the ground or contacts an object back to the user’s brain. Angel Robotics has already demonstrated world-class control architecture capabilities through products such as the “WalkOn Suit” series, a wearable robot for people with lower-body paralysis.

An Angel Robotics official stated, “Through this government-funded project, we have secured both the core technologies needed to preemptively capture the future mobility and cutting-edge medical device markets, as well as global regulatory guidelines,” adding, “This will serve as a catalyst for a significant leap forward in our mid- to long-term corporate value and technology premium.”