Daewoong Pharmaceutical's 'Nabota' Therapeutic Indication Partner Listed on New York Stock Exchange

Ion Biopharma Listed on New York Stock Exchange
Secures 160 Billion KRW in Investment Funds

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum toxin (BTX) therapeutic indication partner has accelerated efforts to secure competitiveness by listing on the U.S. stock market.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum toxin product Nabota.
[Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical]

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 25th that Ion Biopharma, the partner for advanced country therapeutic indications of its self-developed BTX 'Nabota,' was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the 24th (local time), securing investment funds of $125 million (approximately 160 billion KRW).

Ion Biopharma is a biopharmaceutical company with which Daewoong Pharmaceutical signed a partnership agreement in 2019 for the global therapeutic business of Nabota. Ion Biopharma holds the distribution rights for Nabota in major global markets including the U.S., Canada, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom. The stock ticker was decided as 'AEON.'

Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to leverage this listing as a milestone to enter the therapeutic market beyond the cosmetic market and build competitiveness to compete with global big pharma companies. The domestic toxin market, formed since Daewoong Pharmaceutical began importing and selling Allergan's original toxin product 'Botox' in the U.S. in 2005, is still mainly focused on the cosmetic field. Moreover, as multiple companies have entered the market, price competition has intensified, limiting profitability.

However, Daewoong Pharmaceutical explains that the therapeutic market is even larger than the global cosmetic market. According to the market research firm FBI (Fortune Business Insight), the global toxin market recorded $6.5 billion (approximately 8.3 trillion KRW) last year, with the therapeutic market accounting for 53%, reaching $3.44 billion (approximately 4.4 trillion KRW).

They further added that as therapeutic indications expand, the toxin therapeutic market can grow even more. The episodic (intermittent) migraine market, for which Nabota is developing therapeutic indications, is valued at $18.5 billion (approximately 23 trillion KRW). As additional therapeutic indications are added, it becomes possible to enter the treatment markets for those diseases. Ion Biopharma is known to be the only company besides AbbVie to hold a migraine therapeutic indication.

Ion Biopharma plans to accelerate clinical trials for therapeutic indications such as episodic and chronic migraine, cervical dystonia, gastroparesis, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the U.S. using the funds raised from this listing, thereby expanding Nabota's therapeutic indications.

Nabota's episodic and chronic migraine clinical trials are currently in Phase 2. The episodic migraine indication plans to announce Phase 2 topline results in the second half of this year, and chronic migraine in 2024. The cervical dystonia indication plans to complete Phase 2 within this year and enter Phase 3 in 2024. The gastroparesis indication has completed the submission of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Phase 2. The PTSD indication is currently under preclinical research.

Seongsoo Park, Vice President of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, "Ion Biopharma's listing on the U.S. stock market proves the positive outlook that Nabota will also succeed in the therapeutic market. Based on Nabota's excellent quality, demonstrated by acquiring current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) certification and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and the close cooperation between the two companies, we will focus all our capabilities on entering the global toxin therapeutic market."

Ion Biopharma CI. [Image provided by Daewoong Pharmaceutical]

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