RNA·Biosimilars·ADCs, Lift Korean Biotech Stocks[K-Bio Pulse]

This article was released as Pharm Edaily Premium Content on March 25, 2026, at 8:00 AM.

[NA Eun-kyung, Edaily Reporter] South Korea’s pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare stocks rallied on March 24, as visibility on license out deals, biosimilar clinical progress and expectations for next generation modalities such as bispecific antibody drug conjugates converged to lift key names.

Bukwang pharm proves license out value, settles above 7,000 won

Shares of Bukwang pharm closed at 7,130 won, up 17.72% from the previous session. The stock briefly touched 7,180 won during intraday trading, marking a new 52-week high. It was the first time since January 2024 that Bukwang pharm closed in the 7,000-won range.

Investor sentiment appeared to be driven by growing expectations around RNA-based drug development, a modality gaining global traction. The company’s drug development subsidiary, Contera pharma, achieved a license-out milestone last year, and recent disclosure of upfront payments further boosted confidence.

According to Bukwang pharm’s business report, Contera pharma posted revenue of 10.7 billion won last year, which is understood to include upfront payments from its licensing agreement with Lundbeck. While Contera pharma announced the deal in October, it had not disclosed details on the structure or upfront amount at the time.

The recognition of upfront payments is considered an early indicator of progress in license-out deals. The reported revenue effectively demonstrates that collaboration between the two companies is advancing as planned. Supported by the upfront income, Bukwang pharm surpassed 200 billion won in annual revenue for the first time in its history last year. Revenue rose 25% year over year, while operating profit surged 775%.

Bukwang pharm is also targeting a second license out deal for Contera pharma within the year. Its joint R&D with Lundbeck is focused on severe central nervous system disorders, but the company plans to expand its RNA platform beyond CNS into broader indications.

“It is difficult to provide a specific timeline, but joint development between Lundbeck and Contera pharma is progressing faster than initially expected,” said Kim Ji-heon, head of R&D at Bukwang pharm. “In addition to CNS-focused collaboration, we are expanding RNA research into other disease areas, including metabolic and cardiovascular conditions.”

Prestige Biopharma nears second biosimilar milestone

Prestige Biopharma shares closed at 10,350 won, up 13.49%, after a PharmEdaily pay to read article on its Avastin biosimilar was made publicly available.

According to the report, Prestige Biopharma met the primary endpoint in a global phase 3 trial of its Avastin biosimilar HD204 in patients with advanced non-squamous non small cell lung cancer. The study demonstrated equivalence to the reference drug Avastin.

At week 18, the objective response rate was 48.7% in the HD204 arm, compared with 46.5% in the Avastin arm, meeting predefined equivalence margins.

Safety data also favored HD204. The rate of treatment-related serious adverse events was 5.2%, significantly lower than 8.3% in the control group, suggesting strong tolerability and safety alongside analytical similarity.

The bevacizumab market targeted by HD204 is expanding rapidly. According to Data Bridge Market Research, the global market reached $5.65 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.8% to exceed $8.56 billion by 2030. Biosimilars are already capturing more than 60% to 70% of the market in advanced regions such as Europe.

Prestige Biopharma aims to secure at least an 8% share of this market with HD204. If successful, the product could generate stable annual revenue in the hundreds of billions of won. The company’s in-house manufacturing capabilities through its subsidiary Prestige Biologics are expected to support strong pricing competitiveness.

“The clinical success of HD204 demonstrates our competitiveness in the global biosimilar market,” a company official said. “We will leverage our technology, cost competitiveness and partnerships to achieve our goal of reaching a 30 trillion won market capitalization by 2030.”

Genome & Company gains traction with bispecific ADC strategy

Genome & Company shares rose 11.77%, nearing 10,000 won, supported in part by a PharmEdaily pay-to-read article highlighting its bispecific ADC pipeline as a new growth driver.

The report outlined the company’s development plans for bispecific antibody-drug conjugates, drawing investor attention.

Genome & Company, which went public in 2020 with a microbiome platform, has successfully pivoted into an antibody therapeutics developer. Leveraging its proprietary “GENOCLE” platform, the company has continued to generate antibody candidates and license-out deals with partners including Switzerland-based Debiopharm and UK-based Ellipses Pharma.

Its bispecific ADC candidate GENB-120, derived from the GENOCLE platform, will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego from April 17 to 22.

Bispecific ADCs have recently attracted strong global interest, with licensing deals in the segment typically ranging from 12 trillion won to 16 trillion won in value.

“GENB-120 is a bispecific ADC targeting both ITGB4 and TROP2, advancing from our single-antibody ADC GENA-120, which targets ITGB4,” a company official said. “It is meaningful in that it expands our ADC development strategy from single targets to bispecific approaches.”

나은경 (eeee@edaily.co.kr)