[IPO Spotlight] Shaperon Accelerates New Drug Development

Public Offering Price Range 8,200~10,200 Won... Minimum Fundraising Expected at 22.5 Billion Won
Funding Pipeline for Clinical Trial Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Shaperon, developing immune disease therapeutics, is accelerating new drug development through an initial public offering (IPO).

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 24th, Shaperon is issuing 2.75 million new shares while pursuing a listing on the KOSDAQ market. The desired public offering price range is 8,200 to 10,200 KRW per share, and it is expected to raise at least 22.5 billion KRW. A demand forecast for institutional investors will be conducted over two days from the 20th to the 21st of next month, and the public offering price will be finalized. Subscription for general investors will be held from the 26th to the 27th of next month.

Founded in 2008, Shaperon is developing new drugs based on its inflammasome inhibitor platform and nanobody antibody development platform.

The new drugs for intractable inflammatory diseases target GPCR19, an upstream signaling regulator mediating different inflammatory signals, which is expected to provide good efficacy with fewer side effects. The advantage lies in broadly suppressing inflammation from the initiation stage to the amplification stage. Based on inflammasome inhibitor technology, Shaperon is conducting Phase 2 trials for atopic dermatitis treatment, Phase 1 trials for Alzheimer's treatment, and Phase 2b/3 trials for COVID-19 pneumonia treatment. The Alzheimer's drug 'Nuserin' and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug 'Nusepin' have been licensed to Kukjeon Pharm and Bridge Biotherapeutics, respectively.

Nanobody naturally occurs in the blood of camelids and sharks. It is a small antibody composed only of the variable region that recognizes antigens within the heavy chain of a typical antibody. Its size is only about 10% of conventional antibodies, and it has over 80% homology with human antibodies. Due to its smaller size and stable structure compared to conventional antibodies, it minimizes immune side effects and allows for various administration routes. It is considered an innovative next-generation antibody therapeutic technology that overcomes the unmet needs of existing antibody therapies.

Papiliximab is a bispecific antibody nanobody that simultaneously inhibits the signals of PD-L1 and CD47, which cancer cells use to evade immunity, enabling immune cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. It acts on both innate immunity (macrophages) and adaptive immunity (T cells), thereby enhancing anticancer effects.

The funds raised will be used for clinical trial expenses necessary to develop treatments for atopic dermatitis and Alzheimer's dementia. Some funds will also be allocated to preclinical trials of next-generation inflammasome inhibitors and the development of lead compounds for nanobody antibody therapeutics.

NH Investment & Securities, the lead underwriter for Shaperon's listing, selected seven comparable companies?BC World Pharm, Humedix, Yuhan Corporation, Green Cross, Dong-A ST, Chong Kun Dang, and HK inno.N?to determine an appropriate public offering price. Based on an average price-earnings ratio (PER) of 30.9 times, the company valuation was calculated, and a discount rate of 39.7% to 51.5% was applied to suggest the desired public offering price range. This was based on an estimated net profit of 32.5 billion KRW for Shaperon in 2025. It was explained that the expected performance reflects the period when sales are anticipated to increase significantly through technology transfers of the pipeline.