Bio Ventures: "Funding Cliff Hits Bio Industry... Multiple Listing Platforms Needed"

Bio CEOs Urge Solutions for 'Funding Cliff'
President Lee Jaemyung Calls for Structural Review
Financial Bottlenecks Hinder Innovation and Manufacturing

CEOs of bio venture companies and listed firms raised concerns about the 'funding cliff' at the clinical entry stage during a meeting with President Lee Jaemyung.

Yonhap News Agency

At the "K-Bio, Accelerating Innovation" forum held in Songdo, Incheon on the 5th, Lee Seungjoo, CEO of Orum Therapeutics, stated, "In the current system, where a single exchange is responsible for both listing reviews and market surveillance, and companies rely on paid-in capital increases to cover massive R&D expenses, the pace of innovation can slow down." He urged for the separation of surveillance functions and competition among multiple listing platforms. He also pointed out that hundreds of billions of won are needed to move from preclinical to Phase 1 clinical trials, but promising pipelines have stalled due to a freeze in private investment and structural gaps.

In response, President Lee Jaemyung said, "That is a valid point," and called for a structural review. Vice Chairman Kwon Daeyoung of the Financial Services Commission agreed on the need for funding and replied, "We will consider ways to strengthen the role of KOSDAQ."

The funding bottleneck is also recurring in manufacturing sites. Kim Jinwoo, CEO of Prestige Biologics, said, "Although we have facilities worth about 400 billion won, securing working capital is blocked due to performance-based and collateral-focused evaluations," and requested a proactive shift in policy finance. On-site, issues such as the deterioration of corporate finances due to demands for early redemption of convertible bonds, and the practice of focusing collateral requirements for working capital loans, were also raised as problems with financial accessibility. President Lee Jaemyung stated, "Financial institutions should not behave like loan sharks," and added, "We will strengthen investment banking functions."

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