Pharma stocks soar after WHO declares mpox public health emergency

Korean stocks related to mpox reached new 52-week highs.

A render of mpox [GETTY IMAGES]

Korean stocks related to mpox soared to new 52-week highs on Monday as the virus continued to spread around the globe.

Pharmicell, a supplier of intermediates for smallpox drugs, soared 20.6 percent on the Kospi bourse on Monday to 8,490 won ($6.35), a 52-week high. The steep hike followed a 29.89 percent surge on Friday.

Bionote, an mpox testing kit developer, rose 7.23 percent to close at a 52-week high of 6,080 won, after a 29.8 percent jump during the previous session. The Kospi-listed company completed a government-backed project to develop mpox testing kits last year.

Seegene soared 23.48 percent to 34,450 won, also a 52-week record, on the secondary Kosdaq. The company developed testing kits for the detection of mpox as well as Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits.

Kosdaq-listed GeneMatrix, which also supplies mpox detection kits and PCR tests, nearly hit the ceiling on Monday, soaring 29.93 percent to close at 5,990 won.

MiCo BioMed, an mpox test kit developer, surged 29.89 percent to 3,020 won.

The latest buying spree was fueled by the World Health Organization’s declaration of a public health emergency over the mpox outbreak in Africa on Aug. 14 coupled with a recent surge in the Covid-19 cases.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency expects the number of Covid-19 patients to reach last year's peak of 350,000 diagnosed per week by the end of August.

“As large-cap stocks traded weaker due to the outflow of foreign investors, shares in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors helped offset the dip,” noted Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, in a report on Monday.

“The growing concerns over the potential global spread of the mpox virus, as well as the steep surge of the number of hospital admissions for Covid-19, continue to drive prices of shares related to testing kits and negative pressure rooms,” said Lee.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]