Cellumed Hits Upper Limit on Hopes for Ownership Sale[K-Bio Pulse]

This article was released as Pharm Edaily Premium Content on January 20, 2026, at 8:00 AM.

[Shin-Min Joon, Edaily Reporter] On the 19th in the domestic pharmaceutical and bio stock market Cellumed hit the upper price limit. The company's stock surged as it accelerated negotiations for a sale and brought forward the payment date for a third party allotment capital increase.

Genome & Company and Curiox Biosystems also saw gains, seemingly influenced by a premium article from Pharm E-Daily being made available for free.

Genome & Company’s stock rose for a third consecutive trading day, buoyed by continued expectations for additional technology transfer deals related to its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) pipeline.

Curiox rebounded as well, driven by news of steady progress following its first contract with a Japanese partner and reports of an imminent large-scale supply agreement with a global top 10 healthcare company.

Cellumed stock trend on Jan 19.(Image=MP Doctor)

Cellumed’s Ownership Sale Progressing Smoothly

According to KG Zeroin MP Doctor (formerly Market Point) Cellumed’s stock surged 29.81% on the day to close at 2360 won. The sharp rise reflects market optimism that the company’s efforts to sell its management rights are progressing smoothly.

On the 12th Cellumed announced that it had moved up the payment date for a third-party allotment capital increase worth 17 billion won targeting TD Landmark Fund No. 1 from the original date of January 22 to January 20.

Once the capital increase is completed, the largest shareholder will change from InskoV to TD Landmark Fund No. 1. According to sources in the biotech industry TD Landmark Fund No. 1 has already made a partial payment in advance.

Previously Cellumed had been in talks with multiple candidates that had expressed interest in investing, in order to determine the target of the capital increase. After comprehensively reviewing business direction and conditions the company selected TD Landmark Fund No. 1 as its final partner, citing shared vision and the ability to swiftly execute funding.

Cellumed also highlighted TD Landmark Fund No. 1’s extensive network in the bio sector as a key consideration.

A Cellumed representative stated “We have thoroughly reviewed the investor’s financial standing and funding capabilities, and we expect the investment to proceed as planned.”

The 17 billion won in new funding will be primarily used to repay debt related to ongoing litigation. By resolving these financial burdens, Cellumed aims to strengthen its financial stability and long term sustainability.

The remaining funds will be used as operating capital to support new business initiatives and improve its overall business environment.

With the upcoming change in its largest shareholder, Cellumed plans to reorganize its structure and establish a profit focused management system. Previously L&C Bio Group had considered acquiring Cellumed at the end of last year but later withdrew its plans.

A Cellumed official added “We are positioning this year as the starting point for a turnaround in earnings and will focus our efforts on enhancing shareholder value and regaining market trust.”

Genome & Company stock trend on Jan 19.(Image=MP Doctor)

Genome & Company Rises on ADC Licensing Expectations

On the day Genome & Company’s stock closed at 7970 won up 13.86% from the previous trading session. The stock has risen for three consecutive sessions since January 15 driven by expectations of additional technology licensing deals for its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) pipeline.

According to a Pharm E-Daily article titled "Yoo-seok Hong, CEO of Genome & Company ‘Aiming to Out-License Two Additional ADC Candidates in Preclinical Stage’" which was made publicly available on January 15 the company plans to pursue two additional out licensing deals for its ADC drug candidates currently in preclinical development.

The ADC pipelines being considered for licensing are all new-target antibody candidates for solid tumors. Specifically these include △GENA-104ADC △GENA-120 △GENC-116 Among them GENA-104ADC targets the Contactin-4 (CNTN4) protein while the targets of the other candidates have not been disclosed.

Previously in 2024 Genome & Company out licensed a novel ADC target antibody, ‘Debio 0633’ to Switzerland based Debiopharm. The company also signed a licensing agreement with the UK’s Ellipsis Pharma last year for ‘EP0089’ a novel immuno oncology candidate.

The deal with Debiopharm was valued at 586.3 billion won including an upfront payment of 6.8 billion won. The terms of the deal with Ellipsis Pharma were not disclosed.

Yoo seok Hong CEO of Genome & Company stated “We aim to sign at least one licensing deal per year.”

adding “We are developing microbiome-based products as health supplements targeting the U.S. market while all of our drug development efforts are focused on ADC.”

Curiox Biosystems stock trend on Jan 19.(Image=MP Doctor)

Curiox Expected to Show Significant Earnings Improvement This Year

Curiox’s stock rose 4.02% on the day to close at 111,300 won. The gain is attributed to growing expectations that the company will see a substantial improvement in performance this year.

Curiox has begun sales of its automated cell washing platform’s compact model Pluto through its Japanese partner TOMY.

TOMY achieved its first sale just a few months after setting up a demo unit in the fourth quarter of last year a move seen as unusual given the traditionally conservative nature of Japan’s pharmaceutical industry.

Curiox is currently in discussions with at least 10 major biopharma companies regarding potential purchases. The company has scheduled demos with 3 to 5 large companies in January.

The fact that global pharmaceutical giants like AstraZeneca are currently evaluating Curiox’s technology also serves as a positive driver.

At the upcoming SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) conference in February Curiox plans to unveil new products and highlight compatibility with third party equipment as a competitive advantage in targeting the AI-based cell analysis market.

Curiox is also reportedly in discussions for an enterprise-wide master agreement with a global top 10 pharmaceutical company. Such a contract would allow all of the company’s global branches to adopt Curiox’s equipment under the same terms, rather than a single unit being sold to a specific department.

Curiox’s cell washing technology recently garnered attention for its use in the core process of a groundbreaking study that identified the cause of HIV recurrence for the first time globally.

This study was published in the main issue of the prestigious international journal Nature last month.

Nam Yong Kim CEO of Curiox stated “Last year was a turning point in gaining technological recognition. This year we expect to see explosive growth in actual references and revenue.”

신민준 (adonis@edaily.co.kr)