[Click eStock] "HK Innoen Nears US Entry for Esophageal Treatment Drug... Target Price Up 27%"

Yuanta Securities on the 7th raised the target price of HK Innoen from the previous 55,000 KRW to 70,000 KRW, an increase of 27%. This is based on the expectation that HK Innoen will secure rapid growth momentum through the U.S. entry of its gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment K-CAB.

HK Innoen's gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment K-CAB
Photo by HK Innoen

Yuanta Securities analyzed that HK Innoen's third-quarter earnings will show significant improvement. It is expected that third-quarter sales and operating profit will increase by 8.6% and 27.5% year-on-year to 234 billion KRW and 28.6 billion KRW, respectively. This is attributed to the continuous increase in K-CAB prescription amounts despite changing the sales partner to Chong Kun Dang and expanding P-CAB (potassium-competitive acid blocker) mechanism drugs.

Researcher Hyunsoo Ha of Yuanta Securities stated, "While P-CAB is approved only for erosive esophagitis (EE), K-CAB has indications for non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) as well, leading to a continuous increase in prescriptions."

Researcher Ha also expressed expectations, saying, "There are three U.S. clinical trials registered for Tegoprazan, the active ingredient of K-CAB, and the NERD indication has already completed clinical trials, so results can be confirmed within this year." He further anticipated, "Clinical trials for the EE indication will also conclude by the end of this year, with results to be disclosed in the first half of next year."

He explained, "Based on the clinical results, the approval application for Tegoprazan will be submitted by mid-next year at the latest, and sales are expected to begin in 2026." He added, "With the U.S. launch of K-CAB becoming visible, we raised the target price by reflecting the U.S. market value of 353.7 billion KRW."