[Edaily Reporter KIM SAE-MI ] Lee Dong-hoon, President and CEO of SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS(326030), has purchased an additional 1,000 shares of the company’s stock. Following his purchase of 2,000 shares at the end of last month, he made this additional purchase about a fortnight later, bringing his total holdings to 3,000 shares.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 15th, CEO Lee Dong-hoon purchased 1,000 shares of SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS common stock on the 11th at 78,800 won per share on the open market. The total purchase amount was 78.8 million won.

Consequently, President Lee’s holdings of SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS stock increased from 5,000 shares to 6,000 shares. His stake stands at 0.01%. CEO Lee had previously purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock on the 27th of last month at an average price of 90,898 won per share. The purchase price at that time was 181.8 million won, bringing the total amount invested across both transactions to 260.6 million won.

On the same day, Yoo Chang-ho, Head of Strategy at SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, also purchased an additional 500 shares of company stock. The acquisition price was 79,087 won per share, totaling 39.54 million won. Yoo’s shareholding increased from 42,116 shares to 42,616 shares, representing a 0.05% stake. This additional purchase follows his acquisition of 500 shares on the 27th of last month.

An SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS official explained, “The fact that two key executives have made additional purchases in quick succession demonstrates their confidence in the company’s mid- to long-term growth strategy and corporate value, as well as their commitment to responsible management.”

Last month, SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS signed an agreement with U.S.-based Biohaven to license the new epilepsy drug candidate “Opakalem” (BHV-7000) and its follow-on Kv7 pipeline. However, on the 10th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested additional data regarding toxicity observed in nonclinical studies where a specific metabolite of opakalem was administered to mice, resulting in a partial clinical hold being placed on the Phase 2/3 clinical trial.

Consequently, while patients currently receiving the drug will continue treatment, enrollment of new patients has been temporarily suspended. The company stated that the RISE3 trial, for which patient enrollment has already been completed, remains unaffected and that it plans to maintain its schedule for announcing topline results in the second half of this year. In contrast, enrollment of new patients for the RISE2 trial has been suspended. According to the company, Opakalim has been administered to more than 1,200 patients to date, and no clinical adverse events directly linked to the observed nonclinical toxicity findings have been identified.

Biohaven plans to submit additional preclinical data to the FDA as early as late September or early October and seek a partial lifting of the clinical hold. The licensing agreement between SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS and Biohaven has not yet closed, and no upfront payment has been made. The two companies plan to resolve the partial clinical hold issue first before proceeding with the deal closing.