[Click eStock] "Notus, COVID-19 Vaccine and Treatment Development Starts with CRO"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Research Alom predicted on the 18th that investment in therapeutic drug development by pharmaceutical companies will increase as confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surge. It suggested a fair stock price of 36,000 won, stating that the contract research organization (CRO) Notus will benefit.

CRO is an industry that provides extensive research and development service contracts required in the process of discovering and developing new drugs and new substances, and global interest has intensified since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Choi Seonghwan, senior researcher at Research Alom, introduced, "Notus is the number one company in market share in the efficacy evaluation sector, which is the most profitable and expected to grow among non-clinical CROs."

He added, "Compared to competitors focusing on safety evaluation, it is undervalued and deserves attention," estimating that "Notus will achieve sales of 57.2 billion won and operating profit of 8.8 billion won this year."

The domestic CRO market was estimated to be around 1.4 trillion won last year. Clinical trials evaluating new drug efficacy accounted for 890 billion won, and non-clinical trials confirming toxicity and efficacy, which are earlier stages, accounted for about 510 billion won.

Researcher Choi said, "Notus invests in early-stage bio companies with growth potential based on efficacy test data," mentioning, "Many invested companies such as Evixgen and Exocobio are preparing for initial public offerings (IPO)."

Notus has established a cooperative relationship with Royal Animal Medical Group, a domestic animal hospital consortium. It also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China's Ruifeng Group. Researcher Choi expected that Notus will start generating sales in China in earnest from the second half of this year.

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