Iwon Compotec Completes Fundraising... "Accelerating Bio Business"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Iwon Compotech announced on the 2nd that its largest shareholder, Prophase Sciences, raised a total of 26 billion KRW in funds by paying 8.5 billion KRW for the 3rd series convertible bonds on the 26th of last month and 17.5 billion KRW through a third-party allotment capital increase on the 23rd.

Through this capital increase, Prophase Sciences was allocated 2,406,159 shares, bringing its total holdings to 4,706,159 shares (22.40%). If the 3rd series convertible bonds are converted into shares in the future, an additional 1,033,686 shares will be allocated, resulting in a total of 5,739,845 shares (26.45%).

The largest shareholder, Prophase Sciences, has a positive outlook on Iwon Compotech’s bio business. On the 8th, Iwon Compotech officially entered the bio business by acquiring a 49% stake in Metavision, a US-based immuno-oncology drug development company, for 18.1 billion KRW.

Metavision holds pipelines such as CAR-NK related to GCC, Linaclotide, and Dolcanatide, which are under clinical trials by Professor Scott Worldman’s team, former chair of the US FDA Clinical Advisory Committee, as well as companion diagnostic kits and exclusive rights for companion diagnostic kits of immune checkpoint inhibitors from Innovation, a bio company invested in by Iwon Compotech.

CAR-NK is a cell therapy recently gaining attention as a next-generation anticancer drug. It is a novel treatment that extracts cells from the human body, manipulates them, and then re-injects them into the patient. Professor Scott Worldman’s team is understood to be ahead of competitors in research and development in this field. The market value of CAR-NK is expected to reach trillions of KRW.

In particular, Metavision plans to enter Nasdaq through a merger with Liminatus, which holds pipelines for GCC-related CAR-T and Vaccine (Viral Gene). Professor Scott Worldman’s team is closely consulting with Raymond James and J.P. Morgan to complete the merger and Pre-IPO of Metavision and Liminatus by the end of March this year and to list Metavision on Nasdaq in the third quarter of 2021.

Iwon Compotech expects to be the biggest beneficiary by securing about a 25% stake if Metavision is listed on Nasdaq through the merger. The value is estimated to be at least in the trillion KRW range, and it is explained that Prophase Sciences’ payment for convertible bonds and capital increase strengthened Iwon Compotech’s management rights.

An Iwon Compotech official said, “We plan to secure global exclusive rights for CAR-NK, Linaclotide, and Dolcanatide in the future,” adding, “Based on this, we plan to transform into a true bio company.”

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