[Featured Stock] Panagen, the World's Only Mass Producer of PNA Material... Essential Component for Targeted Cancer Drug Prescriptions

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Panagen's stock price is on the rise. The company is gaining attention as the world's No. 1 PNA firm, playing a crucial role in detecting genetic mutations essential for the proper prescription of targeted anticancer drugs.

As of 9:33 AM on the 15th, Panagen is trading at 4,825 KRW, up 6.39% from the previous day.

Panagen is a specialized company in materials and genetic diagnostic products based on artificial genetic material PNA (Peptide Nucleic Acid). While it sells PNA materials themselves, it also operates in molecular diagnostic products and diagnostic automation businesses. Last year, it recorded sales of 16.3 billion KRW and an operating profit of 5.3 billion KRW. Sales increased by 104.6% compared to the previous year, and operating profit turned positive.

Seungdoo Na, a researcher at SK Securities, explained, "From 2016 to 2019, the company recorded operating losses for four consecutive years and was once designated as a management item. However, it succeeded in turning a profit last year and has since been removed from the management item list."

He added, "PNA materials have the characteristic of binding more strongly to DNA both physically and chemically, which is utilized in the development of biosensor and antigen technologies," and introduced, "The most representative field is molecular diagnostics, which uses in vivo biomarkers to test or diagnose the occurrence, progression, and prognosis of diseases."

He emphasized, "The value of PNA utilization is expected to be high in the companion diagnostics field, which selects drugs to be used for specific diseases or monitors therapeutic effects," and stressed, "The importance of companion diagnostics is increasing in the targeted anticancer drug market being developed to respond to patient-specific genetic mutations."

Researcher Na forecasted, "Panagen is the only company worldwide capable of mass-producing the necessary PNA materials for this purpose," and predicted, "In the future, the companion diagnostics and liquid biopsy markets for various genetic mutation tests can grow together."