Duchem Bio, a specialized company in radiopharmaceuticals, announced on the 8th that it has passed the preliminary review approval for listing on KOSDAQ from the Korea Exchange. The lead underwriter for the listing is NH Investment & Securities.
Duchem Bio will begin preparing for the initial public offering process along with the submission of the securities registration statement. The purpose of the KOSDAQ transfer listing is to enhance corporate value by expanding facility investment through fundraising and securing stock liquidity. The raised funds are planned to be used for investment in dementia diagnostic production facilities and radiopharmaceutical CDMO business, among others.
Duchem Bio, established in 2002, is a specialized radiopharmaceutical company. The largest shareholder is pharmaceutical distribution company GeoYoung (54.3%). It was listed on KONEX in 2014. Its main business focuses on the development, manufacturing, and sales of radiopharmaceuticals for brain disease and cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Including six facilities equipped with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, Duchem Bio owns a total of 12 radiopharmaceutical manufacturing sites, the largest number in Korea. It has enhanced its corporate competitiveness by launching diagnostic agents for degenerative brain diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s, as well as cancer diagnostic agents in the domestic radiopharmaceutical market.
Related performance has also continued to grow. Sales were KRW 10.9 billion in 2021, KRW 32.4 billion in 2022, and KRW 34.7 billion in 2023, showing annual growth. Operating profit in 2023 recorded KRW 5.2 billion, an increase of 238.7% compared to the previous year.
Recently, Duchem Bio acquired 100% of the shares of Radio D&S Labs, a specialized radiopharmaceutical R&D company. Based on this, it plans to strengthen its capabilities in the development and commercialization of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, accelerating its entry into the global radiopharmaceutical market through final commercialization.
With the acquisition of Radio D&S Labs shares as a turning point, Duchem Bio plans to reorganize its existing R&D capabilities into ▲ diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals ▲ therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals ▲ radiopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), and focus on the entire new drug development process from new drug candidate discovery to clinical trials and regulatory approval.
A Duchem Bio official said, “Passing the preliminary review for listing allows us to take the first step toward entering the KOSDAQ radiopharmaceutical companies through transfer listing,” adding, “We will do our best to successfully complete the KOSDAQ transfer listing and establish ourselves as a global specialized radiopharmaceutical company.”
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