Kumho HT Accelerates Merger Process with Dinona... Kiwoom Securities Selected as Lead Manager

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Kumho HT, which is currently pursuing a new bio business, is accelerating its merger process with KOSDAQ-listed company Dinona.

On the 10th, Kumho HT announced that it had selected Kiwoom Securities as the lead manager for the merger. The company is currently conducting preliminary procedures such as reviewing all relevant laws and regulations related to the merger and plans to complete all merger procedures by the first half of next year.

Kumho HT expects that the merger will accelerate Dinona's new drug development. It plans to support various aspects of Dinona's pipeline, including clinical trials and technology transfers for △immuno-oncology drugs (DNP002, DNP005) △immune-modulating drugs (DNP007) △COVID-19 (DNP002, neutralizing antibodies).

The acquired company Dinona is a specialized antibody drug company that recently obtained approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for phase 1 clinical trials of the antibody drug ‘DNP002’ targeting solid tumors. Notably, this drug demonstrated efficacy against neutrophilia caused by COVID-19 in non-clinical trials on monkeys, so the development of a COVID-19 treatment is also being pursued simultaneously.

A Kumho HT official said, “With the selection of the lead manager completed, we have taken the first step toward the merger in earnest,” adding, “Since this is a critical matter for Kumho HT’s future growth engine, we will carefully review all relevant regulations for the merger.”

Kumho HT currently holds an 18.74% stake as the second-largest shareholder of Dinona. The largest shareholder is SMAC (097780) with a 24.40% stake. SMAC is the parent company of Kumho HT.

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