[Edaily Reporter YU JIN-HEE ] "We will break free from the limitations of a biotech venture that remains confined to research and development (R&D). By progressively commercializing our proven revenue-generating pipeline—including our validated messenger RNA (mRNA) platform, recombinant toxins, and meningococcal vaccines—we will be reborn as a self-sustaining, profitable biotech company within three years."

Choi Seok-geun, CEO of iGen ( EyeGene,Inc(185490), 185490), expressed this strong confidence during an E-Daily interview held at the company’s headquarters in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, regarding the company’s recent success in securing a series of government-funded projects and its plans to enhance corporate value in the future.

“Achieving Competitiveness in Pricing and Patents Through Capless, sa-mRNA, and Our Proprietary LNP”

EyeGene,Inc. recently achieved the remarkable feat of being simultaneously selected as a lead and participating institution for two projects—"Hantavirus" and "Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome" (SFTS)—under a national project for the development of vaccines to prepare for infectious diseases, led by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. This achievement was secured by overcoming fierce competition from leading domestic pharmaceutical and biotech conglomerates. CEO Choi cited the company’s “fully internalized end-to-end mRNA” platform as the key to winning these contracts.

He stated, “This was made possible because we have established the entire platform process—from candidate design to quality control (QC) analysis, preclinical testing, and integration with contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) processes,” adding “The hantavirus mRNA vaccine, developed in collaboration with Korea University and #MediciBio, can completely overcome the shortcomings of existing inactivated vaccines (such as Hantavax), including short-lived immunity, the inconvenience of a three-dose regimen, and low cross-immunity,” he explained.

In particular, he emphasized the vaccine’s distinctiveness in its ability to respond to variant viruses, such as the “Andes variant” that recently sent shockwaves through the global market. CEO Choi stated, “While it is difficult to defend against variant viruses using conventional inactivated vaccines alone, mRNA vaccines can rapidly establish immunogenicity against certain variant viruses through cross-reactivity,” adding, “Built entirely with domestic technology, it will also contribute significantly to safeguarding vaccine sovereignty.”

EyeGene,Inc. is adopting the self-amplifying messenger RNA (sa-mRNA) technology held by its co-developer, MicroUni, along with a “cap-less” process that does not use a 5′ cap structure for the development of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

CEO Choi said, “The cap accounts for more than 30% of mRNA production costs,” adding, “By utilizing cap-less self-amplifying technology, we can induce equivalent or greater immunogenicity with a smaller dose, thereby significantly reducing production costs to about two-thirds of those of existing mRNA vaccines.”

He also addressed the risk of patent disputes (FTO) related to lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), a major concern in the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries. “MediciBio’s LNP technology—developed in collaboration with us—utilizes proprietary lipids that fall outside the scope of global patents, so there is absolutely no risk of infringing on overseas patents,” he explained, adding, “This structure allows for independent commercialization without having to pay substantial royalty fees.”

“Vertical Integration” with Major Shareholder Korea BMI… Securing a Short-Term Cash Cow

The synergy with Korea BMI, which became the largest shareholder in 2023, served as a decisive turning point that fundamentally transformed EyeGene,Inc.’s financial structure. This is because EyeGene,Inc., which had been focused on R&D, acquired Korea BMI’s GMP facility infrastructure in Jeju and Osong, North Chungcheong Province, along with its distribution network, thereby completing a vertically integrated model spanning “development–production–sales.”

Building on this, EyeGene,Inc. is accelerating its efforts to secure a short-term cash cow. The area where results are becoming visible the fastest is the next-generation recombinant botulinum toxin (EG-rBTX100).

CEO Choi stated, “Unlike the conventional method of culturing wild-type strains, EG-rBTX100 is engineered through genetic recombination, making it completely free from any controversy regarding the origin of the strain.” He added, “By combining the core domains of the A1, A2, and A6 subtypes, we have secured outstanding preclinical data showing that the onset of effect is accelerated while the duration of effect is more than doubled.”

EyeGene,Inc plans to apply for an export license for EG-rBTX100 from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in the third quarter of this year, secure approval by the end of the year, and begin full-scale exports starting next year. The company aims to generate annual revenue of 10 to 20 billion won from its toxin product line alone, using the overseas export license as a springboard.

The quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (EG-MCV4), currently under joint development, has also completed Phase 2 clinical trials and will enter Phase 3 clinical trials in the fourth quarter of this year. After obtaining marketing authorization by the end of 2027, the company plans to enter the domestic military procurement market starting in 2028 and expand its sales network to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Southeast Asian markets in 2029.

While CEO Choi expressed some disappointment regarding EyeGene,Inc.’s current market valuation, he made clear his determination to boost the stock price by demonstrating the company’s fundamental technological capabilities.

“Given that the company currently holds approximately 38 billion won in available funds, the fact that its market capitalization remains around 60 billion won indicates a significant undervaluation,” he said. “We will resolve the uncertainties investors have accumulated during the R&D process and restore trust by achieving our planned timeline without any setbacks.”

He continued, “Starting with royalty receipts from the launch of our crow’s feet treatment in the second half of this year, followed by toxin exports next year and meningococcal vaccine sales in 2028, we will have established a solid, self-sustaining profit structure by the end of that year.” He emphasized, “In the long term, we will expand our pipeline into AAV-based gene therapies and cell and gene therapies (GCT) to emerge as a global biotech company.”