Global healthcare company Moa Life Plus announced on the 27th that it has decided to liquidate Quintregen, its local joint venture in Israel.
This decision to liquidate was made due to the prolonged war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the recent conflict with Iran, both of which have created instability in the region and increased uncertainty regarding stable research and development.
Quintregen is a local joint venture in which Moa Life Plus holds a 70% stake and Yeda, the technology holding company of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, holds a 30% stake.
Under the research leadership of Professor Varda Rotter and Professor Moshe Oren of the Weizmann Institute, Quintregen selected a final p53 anti-cancer drug candidate for clinical entry after drug optimization research. In 2022, the company presented research results on anti-cancer efficacy in various solid and hematologic cancer models at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting.
However, the prolonged impact of COVID-19, the ongoing war with Hamas for over a year, and the recent conflict with Iran have created an uncertain situation with no clear end in sight. As a result, local researchers have been working from home for extended periods, making it difficult to focus on practical and stable new drug development.
In response, the management determined that it was no longer feasible to continue research under Israel's uncertain political situation and decided to proceed with liquidation after amicable discussions with its joint venture partner, Yeda.
A Moa Life Plus representative stated, "Once the liquidation of Quintregen is complete, approximately 9 billion KRW in cash held by Quintregen will be repatriated to Korea. As a result, we expect to realize a disposal gain of about 2 billion KRW compared to the current book value, which will further enhance our liquidity and improve our financial structure."
The company representative added, "Once these funds are received, we plan to invest in expanding sales and profits in the health functional food and cosmetics sectors, as well as in new businesses and exosome-based research and development to secure future cash flow. To this end, we recently signed an MOU with domestic researchers for joint research and technology introduction related to exosomes, and we plan to develop technologies such as new cosmetic raw materials using exosomes, veterinary drugs, and various diagnostic kits."
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