The World's Only Microneedle Platform Lapas, 'Dreaming of Becoming the Second Samsung Biologics'

Signs of Recovery in KOSDAQ Bio Investment Sentiment... Alteogen's Market Cap Benefits from 3 Trillion Won Halo Effect
Lapas Leads Micro-Needle Market with World's Only and Best Technology
Sales Expected to Surge from Next Year... Clinical Trials End This Year, Full-Scale Technology Export Negotiations Underway

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Interest in bio companies is growing again in the KOSDAQ market. Alteogen, a bio-better research and development company, surpassed a market capitalization of 3 trillion won, overtaking Seegene to become the third largest company by market capitalization in the KOSDAQ market. Among quick investors, the movement to find the 'second Alteogen' is also accelerating.

According to the financial investment industry on the 27th, Alteogen's stock price has risen more than 220% since the beginning of this year. After closing at 66,900 won at the end of last year, the current stock price has surpassed 220,000 won.

Alteogen is a global leader in 'bio-better' technology. Bio-better research focuses on improving existing drugs and enhancing their efficacy. It also develops technology to improve dosing frequency and methods centered on patients.

Previously, in December last year, Alteogen signed a technology export contract with a global pharmaceutical company for 'human hyaluronidase (ALT-B4)' using Hybrozyme technology, which converts intravenous (IV) formulations into subcutaneous (SC) formulations. The contract was worth 1.619 trillion won. Alteogen is the second company in the world to develop Hybrozyme technology. Expectations for additional technology exports are growing, and the stock price continues to rise daily.

Investment sentiment toward bio companies shrank after disappointing clinical results from bio companies that had raised expectations in the second half of last year. Since then, Alteogen has been raising expectations again.

Microneedle developer Lapas is also seeing growing expectations for technology exports. In March 2006, Lapas developed soluble microneedles using microarray technology, a transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS). Microneedles are patch-type 'painless injections' that deliver drugs through the skin with tiny needles, solving problems such as pain, infection risk, rejection, and contamination.

Lapas holds the world's only DEN method technology that manufactures soluble microneedles by stretching liquid droplets containing drugs to the desired length. It can produce microneedles in 5 minutes, compared to the molding method used by competitors that takes 12 hours, enabling mass production. The third-generation molding method's original technology patent expired in 2019. Lapas's technology is a fourth-generation type protected by patents until 2033, making it the world's only such technology.

The DEN method microneedle technology is currently expanding beyond cosmetic patches to vaccine and drug treatment patches.

Chungwoo Seo, a researcher at SK Securities, said, "Lapas is expected to actively enter the vaccine, pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic markets based on the performance and competitiveness generated from its cosmetics business. The pipeline most likely to show concrete results such as technology exports soon is the project jointly developed with Serum."

Lapas is promoting joint development of hepatitis B and polio vaccine patches with Serum, the world's number one vaccine manufacturer based in India. It is also jointly researching and developing tuberculosis vaccine patches with PATH, a global vaccine research institute, and conducting phase 1 clinical trials of dementia treatment patches with Boryung Pharmaceutical. Additionally, it is jointly developing allergy asthma treatment patches with a global immunotherapy specialist company.

At the time of its listing last year, Lapas forecasted a sharp increase in sales and operating profit starting next year. It is expected that after completing the ongoing phase 1 clinical trial this year, it will begin full-scale technology export negotiations with global pharmaceutical companies next year. Based on the high competitiveness of DEN technology, Lapas is building a business model that collaborates with partners from the basic stages of drug research and development such as material exploration and non-clinical trials to product development and technology export.

Vaccines require long research and development periods and enormous R&D costs. Market interest in microneedle patch vaccines has been sustained for a long time. Lapas is actively discussing collaboration plans to install microneedle manufacturing facilities within vaccine companies. Moreover, if progress becomes visible in the MPG vaccine (a new substance) expected to overcome the shortcomings of the existing BCG tuberculosis vaccine, many vaccine companies are expected to want to adopt it.

Jung Dohyun, CEO of Lapas, expressed his ambition to become a bio-pharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization (CMO) company like Celltrion and Samsung Biologics based on microneedle technology.