[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Ilyeon Pharmaceutical is showing continuous strength. The news that it has prepared to leap into a global bio production hub with the completion of its Chungju factory next month appears to be influencing its stock price.
As of 9:33 AM on the 18th, Ilyeon Pharmaceutical is trading at 34,750 KRW, up 7.93% from the previous trading day.
The upward trend continues after soaring to the daily price limit the day before.
Ilyeon Pharmaceutical is building the Chungju factory, a production hub responsible for both gene and cell therapies, with an investment of 290 billion KRW. It can produce nearly half of the bio-pharmaceutical development areas, including plasmid DNA (pDNA), a gene therapy based on Escherichia coli fermentation, mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) and AAV (adeno-associated virus)-based vaccines and therapeutics, as well as viral vectors and CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapies.
Yoo Yong-hwan, CEO of Ilyeon Pharmaceutical, said in an interview with Newsis, "AAV and mRNA-based therapeutics, along with CAR-T, are sectors that can grow as much as the current antibody drug market in 10 years," adding, "There is a high possibility of licensing agreements with top 10 multinational pharmaceutical companies based on Phase 1 clinical trial results."
He continued, "The Chungju factory will be a signal for Ilyeon Pharmaceutical's second leap and growth," emphasizing, "It will serve as the best production facility containing all of Ilyeon Pharmaceutical's manufacturing technology and know-how, stepping up as a global pharmaceutical production hub."
CEO Yoo explained, "The Chungju bio factory is a plant that produces pDNA through Escherichia coli fermentation," and "We select gene therapy companies based on pDNA to establish partnerships."
Additionally, partnerships are being formed with companies developing AAV-based and mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics that use pDNA as a raw material. Although not pDNA, partnerships are also being pursued with bacteriophage-based therapeutic companies that manufacture through the same Escherichia coli fermentation process.
CEO Yoo emphasized, "The current trend in gene therapy is gene therapies using 'pDNA' and 'viral vector' gene therapies," adding, "The Chungju factory can handle manufacturing not only these two but also RNA, CAR-T, and other areas accounting for half of the sectors beyond antibodies."
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