“CBI Expands Bio Business with Stake Acquisition in Nasdaq-Listed Company ‘XCUR’”

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] CBI announced on the 23rd that it will accelerate its new drug development business by acquiring shares of Nasdaq-listed Exicure (Nasdaq: XCUR).

A CBI official stated, "Through this investment, we plan to rapidly develop a non-opioid pain relief pipeline and back up four licensed-out pipelines."

Previously, CBI invested $4.75 million (approximately 6 billion KRW) in Nasdaq-listed Exicure (XCUR), acquiring a 16.5% stake.

Additionally, CBI invested $10 million (approximately 12.7 billion KRW) to acquire an 8.4% stake in Kineta, an immuno-oncology new drug development company based in Seattle, USA. It is known that Kineta introduced Exicure to CBI in February, leading to formal negotiations.

Nasdaq-listed Exicure is a biotechnology company focused on gene regulation and immuno-oncology drug development based on proprietary spherical nucleic acid (SNA) technology.

The spherical nucleic acid (SNA) structure is a nanoscale structure composed of densely packed synthetic nucleic acid sequences arranged radially in three dimensions. It offers clear advantages over other nucleic acid therapeutics and serves as a platform technology with therapeutic competitiveness targeting diseases that other nucleic acid therapies cannot address.

A CBI official said, "After acquiring a partial stake in Kineta a year ago, this second equity investment marks the establishment of a new business and the start of long-term growth. Exicure has achieved over 2 trillion KRW in licensing-out deals with global pharmaceutical companies. We see the current moment as an excellent investment opportunity and aim to rapidly grow Exicure through joint investment with Ebbingworth."

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