[Featured Stock] Oseong Advanced, 8 Trillion M&A of Cannabis Treatment Developer... Korea's First Marijuana Treatment Patent

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Oseong Advanced Materials is showing strong performance. News of a large-scale merger and acquisition (M&A) related to cannabinoids (hemp-based substances) appears to have influenced the stock price.

At 11:36 AM on the 4th, Oseong Advanced Materials was trading at 4,900 KRW, up 11.74% from the previous day.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Ireland, announced that it has signed a contract to acquire the U.S. pharmaceutical company GW Pharmaceuticals for $7.2 billion (approximately 8 trillion KRW). This is the largest M&A deal in the biopharmaceutical sector this year.

GW received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 to sell Epidiolex, a treatment for epilepsy. This drug, also known as hemp oil, is the first plant-based cannabinoid approved by the FDA. It generated annual sales of $510 million last year, just two years after its launch.

GW has secured various candidate substances in the hemp pharmaceutical field. Nabiximols, a candidate drug for multiple sclerosis treatment, has entered Phase 3 clinical trials. Early clinical trials are also underway to develop hemp-based medicines for autism and schizophrenia treatment.

Oseong Advanced Materials’ subsidiary, Cannabis Medical, has obtained patents related to marijuana. The company published a paper in the global academic journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research in early last year and acquired the patent within a year.

The patent concerns the evaluation method of cannabidiol’s neuroprotective effects against oxidative stress and a pharmaceutical composition containing cannabidiol as an active ingredient for the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Since 2018, Oseong Advanced Materials has invested over 3 billion KRW in research and development, collaborating with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

A company official stated, "Discussions on marijuana commercialization are still ongoing, and no decisions have been made yet," but added, "We will make the best decisions to enhance the company and shareholder value."

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