[Featured Stock] KemOn Rises on SK Bioscience's Start of Domestic COVID-19 Vaccine Production in January Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The stock price of KemOn, a domestic clinical trial contract research organization (CRO), is showing strong performance. The news that SK Bioscience will begin contract manufacturing of the UK AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in Korea starting next year appears to have acted as a positive factor.

As of 11:36 AM on the 3rd, KemOn's stock price recorded 3,900 KRW, up 9.70% from the previous day. The news that SK Bioscience will start contract manufacturing as early as January next year of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed by UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University seems to have been a positive influence. The CRO company KemOn began full-scale testing after being commissioned in April to conduct preclinical (animal) studies for the COVID-19 vaccine under development by SK Bioscience.

Earlier, SK Bioscience signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in July with AstraZeneca and the Ministry of Health and Welfare and is reportedly continuing negotiations regarding contract manufacturing volumes and costs. Last month, SK Bioscience submitted preclinical trial results of the COVID-19 vaccine to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and it is expected to submit Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trial data within this month.