[Feature Stock] Orum Therapeutics Holds Steady After 'Clinical Trial Halt'... Next-Generation Pipeline in Focus

As of 9:25 a.m. on April 29, 2025, shares of Orum Therapeutics were trading at 17,860 won on the KOSDAQ market, up 0.06% from the previous day's closing price. Although the stock hit its lower limit following the announcement of the discontinuation of a key pipeline's clinical trial the previous day, it appears that expectations for subsequent pipelines are preventing further declines in the share price.

Previously, on April 28, Orum Therapeutics announced that it had decided to voluntarily discontinue the U.S. Phase 1 clinical trial of its new drug candidate 'ORM-5029', which was being developed as a treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and other HER2-overexpressing malignant tumors.

This pipeline was Orum Therapeutics' most advanced, utilizing its proprietary DAC (Drug-Antibody Conjugate) platform technology, which is considered a next-generation advancement in the field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). Unlike ADCs, which use cytotoxic payloads, DAC technology combines a targeted protein degrader (TPD) instead.

However, ORM-5029, which received approval for a U.S. Phase 1 clinical trial in 2022, was suspended in November 2024 after a serious adverse event (SAE) occurred in one participant during the ongoing trial. At that time, the company stated that a decision on whether to resume the trial would be made within the second half of the year. Ultimately, instead of resuming the ORM-5029 trial, the company decided to discontinue it and focus on early-stage compounds in its subsequent pipeline.

A representative from Orum Therapeutics explained, "This decision reflects our commitment to prioritizing patient safety and developing therapeutics with a clear risk-benefit profile. It is also intended to strategically concentrate resources on our next-generation pipelines based on our proprietary platform."

Orum Therapeutics has previously succeeded in two global technology out-licensing deals based on its DAC technology. In 2023, the company signed a contract with global pharmaceutical company BMS for ORM-6165, securing an upfront payment of $100 million and milestone payments totaling $80 million. BMS began a Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT06419634) in June 2024, which is currently ongoing. Last year, Orum Therapeutics also signed a deal with gene-editing therapy developer Vertex Pharmaceuticals, receiving an upfront payment of $15 million and securing additional options and milestone payments of up to $310 million for up to three targets.