[Click eStock] SK Invests in CMB.. Secures CMO Production Base

SK REITs (SK Entrusted Management Real Estate Investment Company) will enter the KOSPI market next month. On the 18th, the SK Group headquarters located in Jongno-gu, SK Seorin Building. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Yuanta Securities positively evaluated SK's exclusive negotiations to invest in CBM (The Center for Breakthrough Medicines), a U.S.-based gene and cell therapy (GCT) contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), on the 17th, maintaining a target stock price of 450,000 KRW.

Yuanta Securities expects the cell and gene therapy market to grow at an average annual rate of 50%, expanding to approximately $94 billion by 2026, and views this as a proactive investment to meet the increasing demand for next-generation biopharmaceutical CMO services with high growth rates.

In particular, since having production bases by region is important for cell therapies, establishing production facilities in the U.S. following Europe is seen as acquiring critical capabilities as a cell therapy CMO.

Choi Nam-gon, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, forecasted, "The potential that SK Pharmteco (the global CMO integrated corporation) will demonstrate in the third-generation bio CMO market through this investment, the performance improvements of SK E&S and SK Siltron in the third quarter of this year, the growth vision in materials and green sectors, expected dividends exceeding 8,000 KRW per share, and being a strong candidate as a COVID-19 treatment CMO partner all point to a rise in SK's stock price by the end of the year."

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