The HLB consortium is strengthening its cancer diagnosis business by acquiring Panagen, a company specializing in genetic disease treatment materials development and cancer diagnosis.
On the 21st, Panagen announced that it will conduct a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase worth 30 billion KRW to the HLB consortium, which is centered around HLB and includes HLB BiosStep, HLB Therapeutics, HLB Innovation, and HLB Investment.
Separately, Nomad No.4 Association and others will participate as financial investors (FI) to acquire convertible bonds (CB) worth 26.6 billion KRW. HLB holds a 30% call option right on these CBs, and upon exercising this option in the future, the HLB Group can secure up to 22.94% of Panagen's shares.
Panagen is a company that owns a molecular diagnostic platform targeting biomarkers. Last year, it established a partnership with Yuhan Corporation to develop an original companion diagnostic medical device (PanamutiTyper R EGFR) for the lung cancer treatment drug "Leclaza (Lazertinib)".
Biomarkers are key indicators that reveal biological changes and the degree of response to drugs. Since each patient has different genetic conditions and cancer mutation statuses, HLB explains that by precisely measuring biomarkers expressed differently in each patient, optimal anticancer therapies can be applied. Companion diagnostics refer to tests that pre-select target patients for targeted therapies by examining the expression levels of genes or proteins and the presence of gene mutations in advance.
HLB explains that Panagen holds exclusive competitiveness particularly in the PNA (peptide nucleic acid)-based diagnostics and new drug material business fields. PNA is an artificial material that recognizes and binds to gene sequences and is used to correct genes in patients with genetic diseases. Panagen supplies PNA-based new drug research materials and diagnostic kits to 50 countries worldwide.
The HLB Group stated that through this acquisition, it has acquired the capability to develop independent diagnostic devices in various fields such as companion diagnostics for hard-to-treat cancers with high unmet medical needs, genetic diseases, and infectious diseases. Following anticancer drug development, the group plans to expand its business area into healthcare, leading to mid- to long-term growth and improvement of corporate value across the group.
Im Chang-yoon, Vice Chairman of the HLB Group, said, "The molecular diagnostic technology built by the founder and former CEO Kim Sung-ki is evaluated as world-class." He added, "Since mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a way to integrate technology, personnel, and capital to increase value, HLB will make company-wide efforts to ensure that the world-class technology accumulated by former CEO Kim and existing employees is properly recognized on the global stage."
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