Weak Earnings, Silent Pipeline: Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Bets on CAR-T and ADC for Comeback

Headquarters of Chong Kun Dang. [Photo=Chong Kun Dang]

Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp., once in the spotlight for a blockbuster licensing deal worth KRW 1.7 trillion ($1.25 billion) at the end of 2023, is now facing a dual challenge of disappointing earnings and a lack of visible drug development progress. In response, the company is seeking breakthroughs by investing in cell and gene therapy developers like AbClon.

According to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry on May 20, nearly 18 months have passed since Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical licensed out its HDAC6 (histone deacetylase 6) selective inhibitor, CKD-510, to Novartis in November 2023. Yet, the project has shown no visible development updates. The deal drew attention at the time for its maximum value of KRW 1.7 trillion ($1.25 billion), but to date, there is no confirmed clinical entry or disclosed indication. Even Novartis's recent Q1 2025 investor relations report makes no mention of the pipeline. Initially, the industry expected clinical trial plans to be announced by the end of last year, but no such updates have materialized.

However, some remain optimistic, noting that while Novartis has recently terminated several other pipelines, it continues to retain CKD-510. In fact, Novartis has discontinued multiple candidates in 2025 alone, including the Sjögren's syndrome drug iscalimab, oncology drug GIZ943, and osteoarthritis treatments LRX712 and QUC398.

As the much-anticipated licensing deal has yet to yield tangible results, Chong Kun Dang's stock price has declined. After peaking in the KRW 130,000 range following the deal announcement in late 2023, shares have since hovered between KRW 70,000 and KRW 80,000. Market analysts believe that disclosing the detailed indication and clinical progress of CKD-510 will be critical to any rebound in share price.

The company's overall performance has also been sluggish. In 2023, revenue dropped 5% year-on-year to KRW 1.586 trillion ($1.17 billion), while operating profit plunged 59%. This was attributed to the absence of the previous year's licensing deal effects, the end of co-promotion for K-CAB (a GERD treatment), and increased R&D costs. Although first-quarter 2025 revenue rose 10.9% year-on-year to KRW 400.9 billion ($296 million), operating profit fell 59.6% to KRW 12.4 billion ($9.1 million), weighed down by rising R&D expenditures and provisions related to litigation over Gliatilin (choline alfoscerate). Chong Kun Dang and 38 other pharma companies are currently involved in legal action to reverse the government's decision to cut reimbursement for choline alfoscerate-based cognitive enhancers.

In this context, Chong Kun Dang has moved to secure new growth engines. The company recently invested KRW 12.2 billion ($9 million) in AbClon, a biotech developing antibody-based drugs, and entered into a joint R&D partnership. Through this deal, Chong Kun Dang secured domestic marketing rights for AbClon's investigational CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy AT101 (Nespacel) targeting hematologic cancers. The companies also plan to co-develop additional therapies, including bispecific antibodies and treatments targeting tumor-associated antigens such as HER2.

This move is especially significant in that Chong Kun Dang, traditionally focused on small-molecule drugs, is now expanding into CAR-T. CAR-T therapy is a form of cell therapy in which a patient's T cells are genetically modified to selectively attack cancer cells. According to Precedence Research, the global CAR-T market is expected to reach KRW 17 trillion ($12.5 billion) by 2025 and grow at a CAGR of over 29%, reaching approximately KRW 174 trillion ($128 billion) by 2034.

In addition, Chong Kun Dang previously licensed an ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) platform from Dutch biotech Synaffix in 2023 and is currently developing CKD-703, a candidate therapy for solid tumors. By expanding into diverse new modalities beyond cell and gene therapy, the company is building a more robust foundation for future growth.

A Chong Kun Dang official stated, "On the profitability front, existing licensed products like Godex (a liver function enhancer) and Fexuclue (a GERD treatment) are steadily expanding their sales base, contributing to stable growth," adding, "The investment in AbClon is part of a long-term strategy to diversify our new drug pipeline and expand into high-growth sectors."

천옥현 기자 (okhi@kormedi.com)