BDI Acquires 51% Stake in Ellison: "600 Billion KRW Pipeline, Aiming to Become a Global Big Pharma"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] VIDI announced on the 6th that it has signed a contract to acquire 51% of the shares of Allison Pharmaceuticals (hereinafter Allison), a U.S.-based cancer drug development specialist company, through a new share allocation method. The acquisition amount is approximately 25 billion KRW.

Allison, which was acquired this time, is a bio company located in New Jersey, USA, possessing four cancer drug pipelines. It is currently conducting Phase 3 clinical trials for a second-line pancreatic cancer treatment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the lung cancer treatment, pediatric osteosarcoma treatment, and brain cancer treatment are all undergoing Phase 2 or higher clinical trials with the FDA.

The second-line pancreatic cancer treatment 'Glufosamide,' which is in Phase 3 clinical trials, has been designated as an orphan drug in the U.S. and Europe, obtained FDA special clinical protocol assessment approval to receive support for Phase 3 clinical research, and has already been designated as a fast track, with new drug sales approval expected in 2022.

A VIDI official stated, "This new share acquisition method allows the entire investment amount to be utilized for new drug development, maximizing investment efficiency, enabling a win-win situation for both investors and developers," and added, "Following the acquisition of Allison, we plan to rapidly expand the pipeline of completed-stage new drugs by additionally acquiring several new drug candidates with a high likelihood of success in FDA Phase 3 or higher clinical trials."

Meanwhile, according to a report from a bio-specialized evaluation agency, the value of the four pipelines held by Allison was estimated at 600 billion KRW based on the risk-adjusted net present value method. This result was evaluated as conservatively as possible by applying a high discount rate to risks such as high uncertainty in expected treatment rates, special patient ratios, and clinical trial success probabilities.

VIDI newly added the bio business through an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in June and appointed Allison's CEO, Edwin Thomas, as an inside director. Additionally, Chairman Ilgang Kim, who has long prepared for the bio business, was newly appointed as CEO to actively prepare for the bio business. A VIDI official emphasized, "The bio business already has a concrete mid- to long-term roadmap completed, and we will focus our capabilities to grow into a global big pharma, which is the management's ultimate goal."

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