[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] #Orient, the holding company of the Orient Group, announced on the 10th that it is purchasing shares of its KOSPI-listed affiliate, ORIENTBIO(002630), on the open market to strengthen responsible management and enhance shareholder value.

Orient announced that it plans to sequentially purchase 3 million common shares of ORIENTBIO on the open market from today through the 8th of next month. This purchase is a measure to fulfill its responsibilities as the largest shareholder, based on confidence in ORIENTBIO’s future growth potential and corporate value.
Following the recent acquisitions of stakes in its affiliates, Orient Genia and Galaxy, this additional purchase, once completed, will expand the stake held by Orient and its related parties in ORIENTBIO to approximately 40%. The company explained that this is a strategic decision aimed at normalizing the company’s undervalued corporate value and laying the foundation for long-term shareholder value enhancement alongside the stake expansion.
ORIENTBIO is a leading company in South Korea’s laboratory animal sector, equipped with infrastructure for supplying rodents, beagles, and non-human primates (NHPs). Recently, through a technical partnership with Japan’s Kitayama Labes, the company has also established a production system for laboratory rabbits. Furthermore, it supports the domestic biotech research and development (R&D) ecosystem by providing contract research organization (CRO) services for preclinical trials and supplying biological resources for research.
The company is also actively working to secure future growth engines. While continuing to develop “OND-1,” a new hair-regrowth drug candidate that has received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is also pursuing the establishment of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based preclinical platform and the expansion of its digital CRO business.
Furthermore, in response to the global shortage of research primates, the company is strengthening its primate-based non-clinical business. It recently signed an exclusive contract with its affiliate, Orient Kam, a Cambodian primate CRO, securing the foundation to exclusively conduct non-clinical trials using Cambodian research primates. Through this, the company plans to enhance the competitiveness of its non-clinical services for global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
An Orient Group official stated, “Although ORIENTBIO is the Group’s core biotech subsidiary, possessing top-tier domestic laboratory animal production technology and non-clinical research capabilities, its current market value does not fully reflect its inherent competitiveness and growth potential.”
The official continued, “As the largest shareholder, we will actively pursue the acquisition of shares on the open market, provide group-wide business support, make continuous investments, and secure new growth drivers to strengthen responsible management,” emphasizing, “We will provide full support to enable ORIENTBIO to emerge as a global biotech research infrastructure company.”