Government-Led 'Stock Boost' Season 2... Biotech Rises Again, This Time with 'K-Vaccine'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Biotech stocks are soaring again. Biotech stocks, which surged due to the development of COVID-19 treatments, lost attention as COVID-19 vaccinations began in the U.S., but their value has sharply increased this month following news of government support for ‘K Vaccine’.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, UbioLogics surged 82.21% up to the previous day this month, ranking first in the KOSDAQ market’s growth rate. The company, which succeeded in developing vaccines such as cholera vaccine, saw its stock price start to rise after CEO Baek Young-ok expressed confidence in an interview with a media outlet on the 3rd, saying, "Although clinical approval was delayed compared to other companies, we have sufficient competitiveness in terms of safety and convenience," ahead of the announcement of Phase 1 clinical trial results for the COVID vaccine at the end of this month.

In particular, the stock price surged after President Moon Jae-in stated in a special speech on the 4th anniversary of his inauguration on the 10th, "The government will fully support the development of domestic vaccines to secure vaccine sovereignty in preparation for the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic." UbioLogics, which traded around 20,000 KRW last month, showed a seven-day consecutive rise from the 3rd, setting new intraday highs daily, and even rose to 61,500 KRW the previous day.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced yesterday afternoon that it would actively support clinical trials by summoning seven domestic COVID vaccine developers. Attendees at the meeting included representatives from Cellid, SK Bioscience, UbioLogics, Genexine, and GeneOne Life Science, which are conducting vaccine clinical trials, as well as HK Inno.N and Quratis, which are preparing for development. Among listed companies, only UbioLogics continued its upward trend that day.

Earlier, Celltrion, which received full government support, succeeded in developing a COVID treatment and rose close to 400,000 KRW (396,241 KRW) in December last year but has been declining this year, falling to 244,000 KRW intraday on the 4th.

Meanwhile, in the KOSPI market, Samsung Biologics is on a continuous rise. Following reports that Samsung Biologics would manufacture COVID vaccines on consignment for a U.S. pharmaceutical company, the stock price has risen for seven consecutive days from the 6th to this day, reaching a 52-week high of 905,000 KRW the previous day. During this period, the stock price increased by more than 17%. The company dismissed rumors on the 12th about producing Pfizer vaccines, saying "No," but left the possibility open by announcing that regarding Moderna vaccines, "Nothing has been confirmed yet, so verification is not possible."

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