[Song Young Doo, Edaily Reporter] South Korea’s KOSDAQ market closed higher on Tuesday, supported by net buying from foreign and institutional investors, while most pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks also gained. Qurient, AbClon, and L&C Bio stood out, each surging more than 20%.

Qurient and AbClon rallied after a brokerage report prompted investors to reassess their corporate value. L&C Bio, meanwhile, attracted strong buying as the market interpreted its large-scale rights offering as an investment in future growth rather than a negative dilution event.

"A Game Changer in a $15 Billion Market"... Qurient Jumps 27%

Qurient posted the largest gain among the three. The stock closed at 21,900 won, up 4,690 won (27.25%) from the previous session.

The rally was directly triggered by a Shinhan Securities report that identified Qurient as a key beneficiary of the emerging cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor market.

Shinhan Securities noted that the focus of the global breast cancer treatment market lies not in HER2-positive disease, but in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-) breast cancer.

The market for currently commercialized CDK4/6 inhibitors—including Pfizer’s Ibrance, Novartis’ Kisqali, and Eli Lilly’s Verzenio—reached approximately $14.6 billion last year and is projected to expand to $17.5 billion by 2030. That is more than double the size of the HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market led by Enhertu.

However, currently marketed CDK4/6 inhibitors have a major limitation: resistance tends to emerge after prolonged treatment. As a result, global pharmaceutical companies are competing to secure next-generation CDK assets. Roche, Novartis, and Gilead Sciences, among others, have recently pursued multibillion-dollar acquisitions and licensing deals involving CDK-related drug candidates.

Shinhan Securities stated that Qurient’s CDK7 inhibitor mocaciclib (Q901) could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this shift. The report assessed that the candidate has demonstrated a competitive advantage over Recursion Pharmaceuticals’ REC-617 and described Q901 as the only CDK7 inhibitor capable of potentially overcoming both resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors and resistance to Topo-1 payload-based ADCs.

Qurient is also expected to see several catalysts in the second half of the year, including potential licensing discussions and Phase 2 clinical data. Analysts said these milestones could further bolster expectations for a global licensing deal. The candidate’s potential for combination use with Topo-1-based ADCs could also make it an attractive strategic asset for global ADC developers.

"Beyond Enhertu"... AbClon Surges 21%

AbClon closed at 26,500 won, up 4,550 won (20.73%). Like Qurient, the stock was boosted by Shinhan Securities’ newly initiated coverage.

The brokerage identified AbClon’s HER2 antibody AC101 as a potential best-in-class therapy for HER2-positive gastric and breast cancers. AC101 is currently being co-developed with China’s Henlius, and the report suggested the candidate could outperform the current standard of care in first-line treatment of HER2-positive gastric cancer.

According to Shinhan Securities, while the existing standard of care delivers a median progression-free survival (mPFS) of around 10 months, AC101 has shown the potential to extend mPFS to 39 months, with the median not yet reached.

Investors also focused on the possibility that AbClon could be re-rated from a domestic biotech company to a platform developer capable of competing in the global HER2 market.

The brokerage stated that AC101 has the potential to enter the first-line HER2-positive gastric cancer market while also expanding into the U.S. and Europe. It further suggested that the antibody could eventually broaden its application to breast cancer through combination therapy with Enhertu.

The report concluded that whether AC101 can demonstrate superiority over trastuzumab-based HER2 therapies in the second half of the year will be the key investment catalyst. Investors responded by revaluing AbClon’s HER2 platform, which had previously attracted relatively limited market attention.

L&C Bio Climbs 22% Despite Rights Offering as Investors Bet on Growth

L&C Bio closed at 58,700 won, up 10,150 won (21.90%), after investors welcomed the company’s rights offering announced the day before.

Rights offerings are typically viewed negatively because they dilute existing shareholders. This time, however, investors focused on how the proceeds would be used rather than on the dilution itself.

The market viewed the capital raise as a strategic investment to expand global manufacturing capacity and accelerate overseas business development, rather than simply as a means to secure working capital.

L&C Bio has recently been accelerating its global expansion, including business growth in China and preparations to enter the U.S. market. Investors appeared to place greater weight on the company’s long-term earnings potential than on short-term concerns about dilution.

The broader market’s willingness to reward biotech companies making proactive investments in future growth also helped fuel the rally.

Market participants increasingly viewed the rights offering as a positive catalyst rather than a negative event.

“The rights offering is primarily aimed at expanding our global business, and the market appears to be viewing it more as a growth investment than as a dilution issue,” said an L&C Bio official. “We plan to use the proceeds to strengthen our future growth engines.”

The official added that the company’s business remains on track, with medium- to long-term growth drivers including the planned U.S. launch of Rituo and the commercialization of products derived from discarded adipose tissue.