Even During the Financial Crisis, Celltrion Rose; Strong Amid the COVID-19 Market Crash

Surge in COVID-19 Treatment Development
Rises 2.94% This Month Despite Market Drop
227% Increase During Financial Crisis in One Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Celltrion is performing well amid the sharp decline caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Celltrion also attracted attention by showing strength during the past global financial crisis.

As of 10:01 AM on the 24th, Celltrion was trading at 185,000 KRW, up 5.71% (1,000 KRW) from the previous day. During the session, it rose to 190,500 KRW, marking a year-to-date high. This marks the third consecutive day of gains, and the previous day saw a sharp rise of 14.75% following the announcement of progress in the development of COVID-19 antibody treatments and diagnostic kits. Its market capitalization ranking also climbed from 7th at the end of last month to 5th.

Despite the sharp decline in the market, Celltrion has risen 2.94% so far this month until the previous day. During the same period, the KOSPI fell by 25.39%.

On the previous day, Celltrion announced that it has secured 300 antibody candidates for the development of COVID-19 treatments and aims to begin human administration by the end of July. Celltrion plans to start cell line production for mass antibody manufacturing from May and complete the production of clinical materials for human administration by the end of July. Additionally, after starting human administration, it plans to develop therapeutic antibodies sufficient for 1 million people per month.

Celltrion showed particularly strong stock performance during the past global financial crisis, demonstrating resilience in times of crisis. In 2008, the year the global financial crisis occurred, Celltrion’s stock price surged by 226.73%. During the same period, the KOSPI fell by 40.73%. In 2009, the following year, Celltrion’s stock price rose by 51.52% annually. Lee Jaeman, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, analyzed, "During the global financial crisis phase, Celltrion rose 227% in 2008 and subsequently recorded an annual stock return of over 50%, playing a leading role."

Especially this year, high growth is expected due to the effect of new products. Kim Taehee, a researcher at Mirae Asset Daewoo, explained, "We estimate Celltrion’s sales this year to increase by 23.9% year-on-year to 1,397.7 billion KRW, and operating profit to rise by 44.6% to 546.8 billion KRW. RamsimaSC has recently started being prescribed in Germany, and its contribution to performance is expected to increase significantly in the second half of the year. Truxima’s market share in Europe is already approaching 40%, and its market penetration speed in the US is also fast."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.