Jeil Pharmaceutical Subsidiary Onconic Therapeutics Passes Technical Evaluation

Onconic Therapeutics announced on the 18th that it has passed the technology evaluation, a gateway for KOSDAQ special technology listing.

Onconic Therapeutics Research Institute Exterior View
Photo by Onconic Therapeutics

Onconic Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Jeil Pharmaceutical, received 'A' and 'BBB' ratings from NICE Investors Service and the Korea Invention Promotion Association, respectively, which participated in this evaluation. To pass the evaluation, both participating institutions must give a rating of BBB or higher, and at least one must give a rating of A or higher. The company explained, "Despite the recent tightening of listing criteria and the higher standards of evaluation institutions, Onconic received favorable evaluations in various aspects such as the completeness of core technology, superiority, commercialization capability, and future growth potential."

In particular, the new drug 'Jastaprazan', a potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) in the main pipeline, signed a technology export contract worth $127.5 million (approximately 170 billion KRW) in March last year, completed Phase 3 clinical trials, and submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June last year, which was also cited as a reason for the positive evaluation in terms of technology completeness and business feasibility.

The company expects that if Jastaprazan is approved this year, it will be able to enter the peptic ulcer market worth about 1.5 trillion KRW, as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which have dominated the market for gastroesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcer drugs, are rapidly being replaced by P-CAB drugs and the market is growing rapidly. In addition, Onconic is independently researching multiple anticancer candidates, including the PARP and tankyrase dual inhibitor targeted anticancer drug 'Nesuparip (OCN-201·JPI-547)'.

Onconic Therapeutics plans to use the funds secured through the KOSDAQ listing, if successful, to actively invest in expanding indications for Jastaprazan and Nesuparip as well as new follow-up pipelines. The company plans to file for a preliminary review for KOSDAQ within this year, with NH Investment & Securities as the lead underwriter.

John Kim, CEO of Onconic Therapeutics, said, "This is a meaningful result recognizing that we are a company with sustainable growth potential based on our research and development capabilities and various achievements," adding, "We will accelerate preparations for listing on the KOSDAQ market and create opportunities to further enhance trust in the domestic bio industry."