Although the KOSPI index has surpassed the 4,000-point mark, the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors have not fully benefited from the ongoing rally. As large-cap stocks in semiconductors and secondary batteries continue to dominate the market, capital has flowed primarily into stocks with visible earnings. In contrast, biotech stocks, which require more time for their pipelines to deliver tangible results, have been deprioritized in terms of capital inflow.

According to The Asia Business Daily's analysis of the share price trends of the top 10 pharmaceutical and biotech companies by market capitalization as of October 29, nine of these stocks underperformed the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices. This means that even pharmaceutical and biotech companies recognized for their growth potential failed to reach the average rate of increase during an unprecedented bull market. Based on closing prices from September 1 to October 28-when the index's upward trend was steepest-the KOSPI index rose 27.6% from 3,142.93 to 4,010.41, while the KOSDAQ index climbed 15.07% from 785.0 to 903.30 during the same period.

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By individual stock, Samsung Biologics, a KOSPI large-cap, rose 22.58%, Celltrion 5.59%, SK Biopharmaceuticals 18.26%, and Yuhan Corporation 6.1%. In contrast, KOSDAQ-listed Peptone (-13.33%) and PharmaResearch (-18.66%) experienced declines. Alteogen (4.6%), Ligachem Bio (2.7%), and ABL Bio (5.52%), which are considered strong players in the biotech technology platform space, also fell far short of the index's growth rate. Only HLB, which had suffered significant losses prior to September due to issues related to its FDA clinical trials, rebounded 23.12%, outperforming the index. Most of the leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies by KOSDAQ market capitalization failed to achieve even double-digit growth rates.

Samsung Biologics and SK Biopharmaceuticals, both of which posted double-digit gains, are notable for having proven themselves as "profitable biotechs" through their earnings. Samsung Biologics recorded sales of 1.6602 trillion won and operating profit of 728.8 billion won in the third quarter of this year, marking the highest quarterly results in its history. Analysts attribute the stock's rise to its expanding share in the global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market and expectations for a "pure CDMO" business structure following a spin-off. SK Biopharmaceuticals is also reporting record-high quarterly results, driven by a sharp increase in U.S. sales of its epilepsy drug cenobamate.

Industry experts interpret this trend as a reflection of the structural nature of the current rally, rather than a simple sector rotation. The phenomenon of large-scale capital from pension funds and institutions concentrating only on certain large-cap exporters with high earnings visibility, such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, is seen not as a recovery of the market's overall fundamentals, but as a "concentration rally" targeting specific sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles. Since June 20, when the KOSPI regained the 3,000-point level, large-cap stocks (top 100 by market capitalization) have surged 40.83%, mid-caps (ranked 101 to 300) have risen 13.98%, and small-caps (ranked below 301) have increased just 1.13%. This large-cap-driven rally is seen as the driving force behind the "4,000-point era."

There is also a sense that the underperformance of pharmaceuticals and biotech is a short-term phenomenon. As the season for global pharmaceutical partnerships and technology transfer deals heats up in the remaining months of this year, even a single major technology transfer agreement could quickly shift market sentiment.

Lee Ji-won, a researcher at Heungkuk Securities, predicted, "When interest rate cuts emerge as a policy tool to counter concerns about economic slowdown, the biotech sector-with its combination of defensive characteristics and growth potential-could become an attractive investment alternative." Jeong Heeryeong, a researcher at Kyobo Securities, added, "Unlike in the past, when expectations and disappointments over clinical data repeatedly drove stock price fluctuations, the domestic biotech industry is now leveling up based on technology platforms."