Celltrion Trio, Unstoppable Sprint Despite Market Adjustment Session

Celltrion Jumps to 4th in KOSPI Market Cap
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Take 1st and 2nd in KOSDAQ
Growth Opportunities Increase Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] The three siblings, Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare, and Celltrion Pharm, continue their unstoppable rise despite the stock market downturn.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 15th, Celltrion surpassed NAVER as of the closing price on the 12th and rose to 4th place in KOSPI market capitalization. Earlier, on the 9th, Celltrion Pharm rose to 2nd place in KOSDAQ market capitalization, securing 1st and 2nd places in KOSDAQ alongside Celltrion Healthcare.

Even amid the recent weak market, the three Celltrion siblings steadily increased their stock prices. Celltrion rose 39.34% this month. During the same period, Celltrion Pharm increased by 47.22%, and Celltrion Healthcare rose by 17.95%.

Relatively less affected by the negative impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and supported by positive factors such as the acquisition of overseas pharmaceutical companies, their stock prices appear to be rising. Previously, Celltrion announced the acquisition of the Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical business division of Takeda, Japan's top pharmaceutical company. Accordingly, all rights to 18 products in nine countries including Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia were transferred. Among these are well-known branded drugs such as the diabetes treatments Nesina and Actos, the hypertension treatment Edarbi, the cold medicine Hwaituben, and the stomatitis treatment Albothyl.

Kim Taehee, a researcher at Mirae Asset Daewoo, analyzed, "Although the contribution to earnings this year and next year is not significant, Celltrion has taken its first step as a comprehensive pharmaceutical company encompassing chemical drugs from a biosimilar company. While it previously had strengths in the US and Europe, it is now entering the Asia-Pacific market in earnest. The establishment of a pharmaceutical portfolio and sales network has made new product launches easier."

There is an opinion that COVID-19 is rather providing growth opportunities for Celltrion. Han Byunghwa, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "As medical infrastructure budgets increase significantly due to COVID-19, policies to expand the use of biosimilars to reduce medical expenses will spread worldwide. Additionally, the global shortage of pharmaceutical production facilities caused by the chain reaction to produce COVID-19 treatments acts as a market entry barrier for small and medium biosimilar companies that lack their own production facilities or find it difficult to find contract manufacturers. Conversely, COVID-19 paradoxically provides opportunities for Celltrion, the world's number one biosimilar company."

Development of COVID-19 treatments is also accelerating. Celltrion recently produced meaningful results in animal efficacy tests. Selected neutralizing antibodies received significant clinical observation scores in experiments on ferrets at both high and low doses, and CT scans of the lungs confirmed a marked reduction in inflammation signs 2 and 6 days after treatment administration. A researcher stated, "Celltrion plans to expand clinical animals from ferrets to hamsters, monkeys, and mice this month, and after IND approval, to simultaneously conduct phases 1 and 2 clinical trials between late July and August. In this case, interim results of phases 1 and 2 are expected to be confirmed within the year, and if phase 3 begins early next year, depending on the spread of COVID-19 and the treatment's effectiveness, the approval for release could be confirmed as early as the end of the year."

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