Yuhan Corporation Realizes 30 Billion Won by Selling AimedBio Stake... Open Innovation in Recovery Mode

Half of Shares Sold After KOSDAQ Listing
Focus Shifts from Investment to Exit in Biotech Ventures

Yuhan Corporation has generated profits of approximately 30 billion won by selling about half of its stake in AimedBio. This is seen as an investment outcome of the company’s open innovation strategy, which has involved expanding its new drug pipeline through strategic equity investments in external biotech firms. Analysts say this move is also in line with the recent trend of slowing new investments and reorganizing existing investment portfolios.

According to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry on March 16, Yuhan Corporation disposed of about 790,000 shares of AimedBio in December of last year, securing 30.5 billion won. This amounted to roughly half of its holdings. The purpose of the investment was also changed from “management participation” to “simple investment.” It appears that Yuhan, which initially participated as a strategic investor (SI), has recovered part of its investment by selling some of its shares.

AimedBio is a biotech company developing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-based anti-cancer drugs, established in 2018 as a spin-off from Samsung Medical Center. Based on its ADC technology, it has signed technology transfer and co-development agreements with Biohaven and SK Plasma, and recently entered into a technology transfer agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany for ADCs, valued at about 1.4 trillion won. The cumulative value of AimedBio’s technology transfer and co-development agreements now exceeds 3 trillion won.

Yuhan Corporation invested in AimedBio relatively early. In 2021, it secured shares by investing about 3 billion won in the Series A round, and in 2023, it made an additional investment of about 1 billion won in the form of redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS). Then, in December of last year, immediately after AimedBio was listed on the KOSDAQ market, Yuhan sold all shares not subject to the mandatory lock-up. Last month, with the remaining shares being released from lock-up, there is potential for additional sales of these shares.

Yuhan Corporation has broadened its new drug pipeline by actively making strategic equity investments in biotech ventures to secure external technologies. After obtaining candidates in the preclinical or early clinical stages, the company proceeds with development and then enhances value through technology transfer agreements with global pharmaceutical companies. Notably, Leclaza, a new lung cancer drug licensed from Oscotec’s subsidiary Genosco, is regarded as one of the most successful cases of open innovation in the Korean pharmaceutical sector.

However, recently there has been a shift in investment strategy. Rather than aggressively expanding the number of investment targets as in the past, the company now appears to be focusing on existing pipeline collaborations and divesting some of its investment stakes. The number of major new investee companies, as disclosed in business reports, dropped significantly from seven in 2021 and seven in 2022 to just one each in 2023 and 2024. It has been confirmed that only two companies—Kimcell & Gene (1 billion won) and Collab (1.2 billion won)—received new investments last year.

The scale of equity investments in affiliates is also shrinking rapidly. The funds Yuhan Corporation used to acquire stocks in affiliates and joint ventures fell from 102.3 billion won in 2023 to 28.7 billion won in 2024, and further down to 8.2 billion won last year. In contrast, cash inflows from the disposal of equity stakes surged from 8.7 billion won in 2023 to 39.7 billion won in 2024, and 49.4 billion won in 2025.

Industry analysts suggest that in a contracting biotech investment market, a growing investment portfolio may have become a burden. Because successful cases among early-stage biotech investments are limited, it is necessary to recoup investments at a certain point and focus on key collaborative pipelines. An industry insider explained, “The open innovation approach seems to be shifting away from direct corporate investments, instead prioritizing a strategy of selection and concentration, such as cooperating only on specific pipeline research and development.”

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