[Edaily Reporter Minji Son ] On the 10th, domestic pharmaceutical and biotech stocks showed an overall upward trend, buoyed by a rebound in the KOSDAQ index. From Bio Co., Ltd.(377220), which resumed trading that day after completing a 5-to-1 stock split, shot straight to the daily price limit. curacle co., ltd.(365270)rose more than 18% on securities industry analysis suggesting that, following the large-scale technology transfer of its retinal disease treatment “MT-103,” additional contracts could emerge from its follow-up pipeline, including “MT-101” and “CU01.”

From Bio Co., Ltd. Hits Daily Price Limit on First Day of Trading After Stock Split

According to

Doctor (formerly Marketpoint

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Co., Ltd. closed at 3,330 won on the KOSDAQ market today, up 29.82% (765 won) from the previous trading day.

The rise in the stock price was largely driven by the resumption of trading following the stock split. While a stock split is not a measure that directly increases a company’s value, it stimulates investor sentiment due to expectations that the reduction in the number of shares outstanding will improve supply-and-demand conditions and help the company shed its image as a low-priced stock.

Previously, From Bio Co., Ltd. decided in May to implement a 5-for-1 stock consolidation, combining 100 won-par-value shares into a single 500 won-par-value share. As a result, the number of issued shares decreased from 28.31 million to 5.662 million, and trading, which had been suspended since the 20th of last month, resumed today.

From Bio Co., Ltd. plans to use the resumption of trading as a starting point for a “second leap forward,” focusing on restructuring its financial structure, securing future growth engines, and implementing profitability-centered management. In fact, when the company’s losses widened in the first quarter of this year, From Bio Co., Ltd. CEO Shim Tae-jin worked to stabilize the stock price by purchasing 280,000 shares of the company’s stock on the open market in two separate transactions in June.

The key issue going forward is whether the company can improve its performance. Last year, From Bio Co., Ltd. recorded consolidated revenue of 72.2 billion won, a 7.4% increase from the previous year. Although its operating loss narrowed from 24.3 billion won to 18.6 billion won, the company was unable to break out of its loss-making structure.

In the first quarter of this year, consolidated revenue rose 3.6% year-over-year to 19.2 billion won, but the operating loss widened from 2.3 billion won to approximately 3.3 billion won. This was largely due to an increase in advertising and promotion expenses from 4.2 billion won to 5.2 billion won, and in sales commissions from 4.5 billion won to 6.0 billion won. The combined total of these two expenses amounted to approximately 11.2 billion won, accounting for about 59% of first-quarter revenue.

Financial pressures also remain. As of the end of March this year, From Bio Co., Ltd.’s current assets totaled 14.3 billion won, while current liabilities stood at 35.7 billion won. Short-term borrowings stood at 32.55 billion won, while cash and cash equivalents were around 1.49 billion won. It will be worth watching whether the company’s emphasized efforts to improve its financial structure will lead to a reduction in debt and an improvement in cash flow in the future.

Meanwhile, From Bio Co., Ltd. is working to improve the profitability of its health functional food business while simultaneously cultivating its cosmetics and biotech businesses as new growth engines. Its subsidiary, PromBio Cosmetics, is moving away from an online-centric sales structure and expanding its offline distribution network. In the biotech sector, the company is developing a hair loss treatment based on differentiated adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (dADSCs), which it is developing in-house. In preclinical efficacy evaluations, the treatment was confirmed to promote hair regrowth and increase hair follicle count in animal models of hair loss, and general toxicity testing has been completed; the company is currently conducting in vivo distribution and tumorigenicity tests. It is also establishing a cell bank to ensure the consistent quality of cells for clinical trials. The target timeline is to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application next year.

curacle co., ltd. ‘Soars’ on Expectations of Additional Technology Transfer

curacle co., ltd. closed at 11,700 won, up 18.18% (1,800 won) from the previous trading day.

The stock price surge was influenced by securities industry analysis suggesting that, following the successful large-scale technology transfer of the retinal disease treatment “MT-103,” additional contracts could emerge from its follow-on pipeline. On the same day, Shinhan Investment Securities released a report titled “Memento’s Memo: Look for the Next L/O” and identified “MT-101” and “CU01” as candidates for curacle co., ltd.’s next technology transfers.

Lee Ho-cheol, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, stated, “If the bispecific antibody drug MT-103 enters global Phase 1 clinical trials and generates positive data, additional technology transfers (L/O) for the company’s subsequent pipeline are expected to accelerate.”

Curacle co., ltd. is developing new drugs to treat diseases related to endothelial dysfunction. Its pipeline consists of an antibody drug co-developed with Maptics and an orally administered small-molecule compound developed in-house. By signing a joint research and development agreement with Maptics in 2024, the company secured eight additional new drug candidates targeting intractable vascular diseases such as those affecting the eyes and kidneys. Revenue generated from the development of these candidates will be split equally between the two companies.

MT-103, the company’s core pipeline candidate, is a bispecific antibody that blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) while activating the Tie2 receptor, which plays a role in vascular stabilization. It is being developed for indications such as wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

In May of this year, curacle co., ltd. transferred the global rights to MT-103 to U.S.-based drug developer Memento Medicine. The total deal value is $1.08 billion (approximately 1.6 trillion won), with an upfront payment of $8 million (approximately 11.6 billion won). Memento Medicine secured 139.5 billion won in Series A funding to independently develop MT-103 and aims to begin global Phase 1 clinical trials next year.

The lead candidate most frequently cited for potential future technology transfer is MT-101. MT-101 is a novel antibody drug that activates the Tie2 receptor to stabilize renal blood vessels; it is being developed for the treatment of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. Acute kidney injury is an area with significant unmet medical need, as there are currently no approved treatments.

In preclinical studies, curacle co., ltd. confirmed that MT-101 protects kidney function, promotes the recovery of damaged tissue, and inhibits the progression to chronic kidney disease as well as renal fibrosis. It is reported that the company is currently in discussions regarding technology transfer with multiple global pharmaceutical companies. Analysts suggest that having demonstrated the potential for global commercialization of its antibody pipeline through the MT-103 agreement could have a positive impact on the MT-101 negotiations.

However, some observers point out that the development risks associated with Tie2-targeted new drugs must be closely monitored, noting that clinical validation is necessary. Previously, Roche removed the Tie2-acting antibody “RG6351,” which was undergoing a global Phase 2 clinical trial this year, from its pipeline, and it is reported that Astellas’ Tie2-acting antibody “ASP4021” was also removed from its pipeline.

CU01, a small-molecule compound, is also considered a candidate for curacle co., ltd.’s next technology transfer. CU01 is a drug repurposing pipeline that redevelops dimethyl fumarate—which is approved as a treatment for multiple sclerosis—into a treatment for diabetic nephropathy. Curacle co., ltd. completed a Phase 2b clinical trial in South Korea last year. The researcher stated, “For the primary endpoint, uACR (the degree of protein leakage into the urine), both dose groups showed a statistically significant reduction compared to the placebo group,” but added, “For the secondary endpoint, eGFR (kidney filtration rate), statistical significance could not be established due to the limitations of the short-term data (24 weeks).”

He continued, “AstraZeneca’s Forxiga also failed to achieve statistical significance in the secondary endpoint of mGFR in its Phase 2 short-term data (Week 6), but it subsequently obtained FDA approval following successful Phase 3 long-term data,” adding, “CU01 also needs to demonstrate efficacy in Phase 3 long-term data.”