[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Hana Financial Investment maintained a 'Buy' rating on Yuhan Corporation on the 3rd, noting that the lung cancer treatment drug Lazertinib has entered Phase 3 clinical trials, and raised the target price by 14% from 72,000 KRW to 82,000 KRW.
Sun Minjung, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, stated, "This clinical trial is aimed at expanding the value of Lazertinib," and added, "If the trial succeeds, the market size and drug value of Lazertinib will increase significantly."
Yuhan Corporation's consolidated sales for the second quarter increased by 15.6% year-on-year to 415.5 billion KRW, with an operating profit turning positive to 35.7 billion KRW.
In April, Janssen entered Phase 2 clinical trials for the combination therapy of Amivantamab, an EGFR/c-Met bispecific antibody, and Lazertinib, receiving a milestone payment of 35 million USD, which was naturally recognized as a factor for the improved second-quarter performance. However, it is evaluated that the results were higher than expected due to the inclusion of 44.1 billion KRW in technology royalty income.
Researcher Sun Minjung explained, "The core business has now started a turnaround," and added, "With the introduction of new large-scale products such as the anticancer drug Gleevec, which is expected to generate annual sales of 50 billion KRW, it is expected that prescription drug sales volume can be expanded again."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
