US biotech ventures are pursuing listings on the Korean stock market in hopes of securing high valuations through technology special listings on the KOSDAQ, backed by their track records of licensing deals with big pharma. When a valuation is set high, offering the same equity stake yields larger proceeds, expanding the funds available for research and development (R&D). Analysts say cases of overseas biotech firms backed by Korean capital listing on the KOSDAQ are likely to increase going forward.
According to the industry on the 9th, three of the four US biotech ventures pursuing listings in Korea — Ingenia Therapeutics, BreezeBio, and Pinetree Therapeutics — have secured technology export deals with big pharma. The remaining firm, Kaijin, has a track record of a 1 trillion won technology export to Celltrion, a major Korean company. These firms are expected to secure hundreds of billions of won in public offering funds on the back of their technology export achievements and channel the proceeds into developing follow-up drug candidates.
The firm pursuing a listing most quickly is Ingenia Therapeutics, a Boston-based drug developer. Ingenia plans to enter the KOSDAQ next month after conducting demand forecasting and public subscription for its listing this month. Based on the top of its offering price range of 14,500 won, its valuation stands at up to 779.6 billion won, with the offering size reaching up to 72.5 billion won. Ingenia is developing treatments for retinal diseases and chronic kidney disease based on technology that repairs and normalizes blood vessels by reducing microvascular endothelial cell leakage and inflammation. Among these, its Tie2·VEGF bispecific antibody-based retinal disease treatment candidate 'IGT-427' was licensed to the UK's EyeBio in 2022 in a deal worth up to 1 trillion won. EyeBio was acquired by global pharmaceutical company MSD in 2024 and incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary. As a result, MSD is currently conducting a Phase 3 trial of IGT-427 for wet age-related macular degeneration. Its chronic kidney disease treatment candidate 'IGT-303' is being developed by Ingenia in a Phase 2 trial.
BreezeBio, headquartered in Brisbane, US, is also pursuing a listing within the year. After recently passing the technology assessment for a technology special listing with AA and A grades, it plans to file for preliminary listing review within the year. BreezeBio holds two technology transfer records based on its gene therapy delivery technology platform 'NanoGalaxy.' In 2022, it entered into a partnership with US-based Sarepta Therapeutics to develop treatments for neuromuscular diseases, and in 2024 it signed a $644 million (about 968.5 billion won) contract with Genentech, a Roche subsidiary, to develop new drugs in the immunomodulation field. It is also independently developing autoimmune disease drugs including 'BRZ-101,' a type 1 diabetes treatment.
Pinetree Therapeutics also began preparations for a KOSDAQ listing early this year by selecting Korea Investment & Securities as its underwriter. Its target listing timing is next year. Pinetree Therapeutics was founded in Boston in 2019 by CEO Song Ho-jun, who participated in the development of Yuhan Corporation's 'Leclaza' at Genosco. It holds a multi-antibody-based targeted protein degradation (TPD) drug development platform. Based on this, it licensed its preclinical-stage epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) degrader candidate 'PTX-299' to AstraZeneca in 2024 for $545 million (about 819.6 billion won).
Kaijin also recently began selecting an underwriter for a KOSDAQ listing. In November last year, Kaijin signed a global technology transfer agreement with Celltrion for autoimmune disease drug candidates 'KG002·006,' based on neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) inhibitors and specific autoantibody degraders. The deal is worth up to $744 million (about 1.1184 trillion won). Kaijin was founded in Rockville, US, in 2022 by CEO Shin Min-jae, formerly of HanAll Biopharma. Shin is known as the figure who led the development of 'batoclimab,' an antibody drug that was licensed from HanAll Biopharma to US-based Immunovant.
Cases of US biotech firms backed by Korean capital listing on the KOSDAQ are expected to increase further going forward. Listing on the Korean market using Korean Depositary Receipts (KDR) allows shares of overseas corporations to be traded in won, simplifying investors' capital recovery procedures. In contrast, when listing on the NASDAQ, Korean investors face greater practical burdens such as currency exchange, remittance, and tax processing during the disposal of shares. Ingenia counts domestic institutional investors including Intervest and Aurum Asset Management among its shareholders.
The KOSDAQ also carries a lower cost burden for listing compared to the NASDAQ. The initial listing fee for the NASDAQ Capital Market, where small and mid-sized growth companies list, is $50,000 (about 75 million won) or more. Annual maintenance fees can reach up to $86,000 (about 129 million won) depending on the number of listed shares. Including legal and accounting advisory fees and underwriter fees, the cost burden of listing rises to several hundred million won annually. In contrast, the KOSDAQ's listing cost burden is in the tens of millions of won. New listing fees, charged on a sliding scale according to market capitalization, are up to about 50 million won, while annual listing maintenance fees are also relatively inexpensive at up to around 10 million won. "I understand that Kaimune and others are also considering listings in Korea," an industry official said, "and cases of overseas biotech firms listing on the KOSDAQ will continue to increase going forward." Kaimune is an immuno-oncology drug developer founded in the US in 2024 by CEO Oh Jae-hak, formerly of Amgen and Genentech, which signed a joint research agreement early this year with a research institution under Daiichi Sankyo.
