[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Hansong Neotek is pursuing business diversification by investing in the bio sector following its entry into the secondary battery business.
Hansong Neotek announced on the 8th that it invested approximately $860,000 (about 1.013 billion KRW) in Series B funding for the Belgian anti-cancer bio company ‘PDC Line Pharma (PDC Line)’. This investment was led by ‘Korea Investment Partners’ as the anchor investor, with Hansong Neotek participating as a financial investor.
PDC Line was spun off from the French blood bank (EFS) in 2014 and is the only company worldwide developing anti-cancer vaccines based on plasmacytoid dendritic cells. The plasmacytoid dendritic cell-based anti-cancer vaccine shows much stronger efficacy compared to conventional dendritic cell vaccines and exhibits excellent synergy effects with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Domestically, in 2019, LG Chem’s life sciences division introduced PDC Line’s non-small cell lung cancer anti-cancer vaccine clinical phase 1 and phase 2a projects and signed an exclusive development and licensing agreement in Korea. PDC Line aims to complete clinical phases 1/2 for non-small cell cancer patients in 2023 and publish research reports. Subsequently, it plans to conduct clinical phase 2 trials with about 120 patients to prove synergy and efficacy with PD-1 inhibitors.
A Hansong Neotek official said, “Through this equity investment, we expect investment returns if PDC Line goes public on KOSDAQ in the future,” adding, “At the same time, Hansong Neotek’s bio division, PDC Line, and Korea Investment Partners plan to create synergy through mutual collaboration.”
He continued, “With the expansion of investments in upstream industries, the performance improvement of our core business in the display equipment sector is gaining momentum, and we have recently entered the secondary battery market to secure future growth engines,” adding, “We will steadily pursue business diversification, including this investment in the bio sector.”
Meanwhile, Hansong Neotek officially launched its secondary battery business by acquiring the secondary battery lead tab manufacturing company ‘Shinhwa IT’ in August. Lead tabs are active terminals that connect the cathode and anode to input and output electricity externally, and they are essential materials commonly used not only in lithium-ion batteries but also in next-generation all-solid-state batteries such as ‘lithium-sulfur’ and ‘lithium-metal’ batteries.
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