[Edaily Reporter KIM SAE-MI ] OSCOTEC Inc.(039200)has secured a total of 92.8 billion won in contract deposits this year through two global technology export deals, thereby achieving its profitability improvement target ahead of schedule.

OSCOTEC Inc. disclosed the “Status of Implementation of the Corporate Value Enhancement Plan” containing these details on the 5th. This comes approximately one year and nine months after the company first announced its corporate value enhancement plan in February of last year.

OSCOTEC Inc. exported the Alzheimer’s disease treatment “ADEL-Y01” to France’s Sanofi in December of last year and the autoimmune disease treatment “Cevidoplenib” to U.S.-based Azios in June of this year. The total value of the two agreements amounts to up to 2.5 trillion won. This means the company has secured 40% of its goal—to achieve at least five technology export deals by 2034—in about one year and six months.

The ADEL-Y01 technology export agreement signed with Sanofi is valued at up to $1.04 billion (approximately 1.53 trillion won). The upfront payment is $80 million (approximately 118 billion won), and OSCOTEC Inc. received 55.3 billion won—equivalent to 47% of the upfront payment—this year through its joint development partner, Adel.

The technology export agreement for Sevidoplenin signed with Azios is valued at up to $665 million (approximately 1 trillion won). OSCOTEC Inc. transferred exclusive global development and commercialization rights and received an upfront payment of $25 million (37.5 billion won). Through these two agreements, the total non-refundable upfront payments secured this year amount to 92.8 billion won.

Separately, OSCOTEC Inc. also holds an option-based technology transfer agreement for “Denfivontinib” signed with Yatiri Bio last March. However, this agreement was excluded from the count of technology export targets achieved, which is calculated based on master agreements.

These technology export achievements have led to improved financial performance. OSCOTEC Inc.’s consolidated revenue last year reached 99.8 billion won, a 194% increase from the previous year. Operating profit stood at 52.1 billion won, marking a turnaround from the previous year’s loss of 2.7 billion won. In the first half of this year, the company also recorded revenue of 56.3 billion won and operating profit of 28.7 billion won.

Return on equity (ROE) rose from -1.4% in 2024 to 34.1% last year. As a result, the company achieved its goal of turning ROE positive by 2027 two years ahead of schedule.

On a standalone basis, accumulated losses also decreased from 100.7 billion won at the end of 2024 to 51.7 billion won at the end of last year and to 20.4 billion won as of the end of June this year. This represents a reduction of 80.3 billion won (approximately 80%) over a period of about one year and six months.

However, OSCOTEC Inc. has not yet secured distributable earnings. The company believes it is difficult to proceed with cash or in-kind dividends immediately, as a standalone loss of 20.4 billion won remained as of the end of June this year. It also notes that to carry out a stock split on a meaningful scale, an expansion of the total number of authorized shares is necessary.

OSCOTEC Inc. plans to review its shareholder return policy in stages, taking into account its distributable profits, cash flow, and financial stability.

The company has also expanded its investment in research and development (R&D). Last year, R&D investment on a standalone basis totaled 15.89 billion won, a 66.4% increase from the previous year. In the first half of this year, the company invested 6.81 billion won, a 3.4% increase compared to the same period last year. OSCOTEC Inc. plans to expand its annual R&D investment to over 21 billion won by next year.

OSCOTEC Inc. also achieved its goal of entering a new clinical trial ahead of schedule. OSCOTEC Inc. began Phase 1 clinical trials in December of last year for “OCT-598,” an EP2/EP4 dual-inhibitor, anti-drug resistance anticancer drug that received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year. This brings forward by two years the company’s goal of initiating at least one new clinical trial by 2027.

Going forward, OSCOTEC Inc. plans to expand its pipeline with a focus on drug-resistant anticancer agents and antibody-drug conjugates (DACs), and aims to secure at least one technology export every one to two years. Through these efforts, the company intends to strengthen its financial independence by securing R&D funding internally.

Improving corporate governance and strengthening communication with shareholders have also been added as new priorities. Currently, two of OSCOTEC Inc.’s seven directors are independent directors, representing 28.6% of the board. OSCOTEC Inc. plans to appoint at least one additional independent director by next year’s annual general meeting of shareholders to raise the proportion to at least one-third. The company also plans to publish its first sustainability report in the first half of next year.

An OSCOTEC Inc. official stated, “We will implement cash and in-kind dividends, as well as stock splits, in phases depending on operational conditions.”