Biotech Stocks Rally with Market Rebound; Orum Therapeutics Jumps 18% [K-Bio Pulse]

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[이데일리 손민지 기자] On July 31, South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech stocks broadly advanced as domestic equities rebounded, with bargain hunting returning to beaten-down growth and biotech names. While many of the day's gainers lacked company-specific catalysts, shares of Orum Therapeutics, G2GBIO and Kanaph Therapeutics posted strong gains.

Orum Therapeutics climbs on renewed pipeline optimism

Orum Therapeutics stock trend.(Source=KG Zeroin MP DOCTOR)

According to KG Zeroin’s MP Doctor platform, Orum Therapeutics closed at 44,600 won on the KOSDAQ, up 17.99%, or 6,800 won, from the previous session.

No new filing or company-specific catalyst was identified as the main driver of the rally. Instead, the sharp rebound in South Korean equities appeared to revive investor appetite for risk assets, prompting bargain hunting across biotech names that had suffered steep recent declines.

Investor sentiment was also supported by the scarcity value of Orum’s antibody-degrader conjugate, or DAC, platform and the company’s track record of licensing deals with global pharmaceutical companies.

In 2023, Orum licensed ORM-6151 to Bristol Myers Squibb after receiving U.S. clearance to begin a Phase 1 clinical trial, securing a $100 million upfront payment. The following year, it signed another large-scale licensing agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals covering up to three targets.

The back-to-back global deals were seen as validation of the commercial potential of Orum’s platform technology.

Investors are now watching the progress of the company’s proprietary pipeline in the second half of the year. After demonstrating its ability to secure licensing deals, the next key valuation driver will be whether its internally developed candidates can advance into clinical development.

“Our lead asset, ORM-1153, remains on track for an Investigational New Drug application before the end of the year,” an Orum Therapeutics official said. “Our second lead asset, ORM-1023, is expected to be selected as a development candidate following the discovery stage.”

G2GBIO surges after Celltrion collaboration

G2GBIO stock trend.(Source=KG Zeroin MP DOCTOR)

G2GBIO closed at 26,950 won, up 17.43%, or 4,000 won, from the previous session.

Investor sentiment was supported by the company’s newly announced collaboration with Celltrion on an ultra-high-concentration subcutaneous, or SC, antibody formulation platform. G2GBIO signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Celltrion, including a material transfer agreement, to evaluate whether its proprietary high-concentration microparticle platform, InnoBiolamp, can be applied to antibody therapeutics.

The partnership was viewed positively because it could expand G2GBIO’s business beyond long-acting injectable formulations for small-molecule drugs and peptides into antibody formulations. Investors appeared to price in the potential for the company to build two growth pillars: its existing long-acting injectable business and a new antibody SC formulation platform.

In an interview with Pharm Edaily published Friday, G2GBIO Chief Executive Lee Hee-yong described antibody SC formulations as a second growth engine for the company.

“If microparticle technology was G2GBIO’s first growth pillar, antibody SC formulations will serve as the growth engine for our next stage,” Lee said. “Developing therapeutic antibodies into ultra-high-concentration SC injections will, of course, require preclinical and clinical studies. But we have already completed a substantial portion of the laboratory-stage research that can be conducted before those steps, and we plan to formulate a range of antibodies at ultra-high concentrations as development progresses.”

Antibody drugs are often administered intravenously because they generally require large doses and have high molecular weights. To convert them into SC formulations, manufacturers must concentrate the antibody so the required dose can be delivered within a limited injection volume.

That process presents technical challenges. As antibody concentrations rise, viscosity and the risk of protein aggregation also increase, making it difficult to maintain both injectability and stability.

G2GBIO aims to address those limitations by converting antibodies into microparticles and dispersing them in a carrier, a formulation approach designed to achieve both ultra-high concentrations and practical subcutaneous delivery.

Kanaph Therapeutics rises as biotech sentiment improves

Kanaph Therapeutics stock trend.(Source=KG Zeroin MP DOCTOR)

Kanaph Therapeutics climbed 16.34% to 10,750 won.

Like Orum, the company released no material announcement during the session. Instead, investors appeared to rotate into biotech stocks broadly as market sentiment improved.

The rally also reflected continued expectations surrounding Kanaph's licensing strategy and the clinical progress of assets partnered with larger pharmaceutical companies.

The company focuses on an "early licensing" model, transferring drug candidates to domestic partners before advancing them through clinical development and pursuing subsequent global licensing deals.

Its key partnered assets include KNP-502, a dual EP2/EP4 inhibitor licensed to Oscotec, and KNP-504, an SOS1 inhibitor licensed to Yuhan Corporation.

"We believe today's share price movement was driven primarily by improving sentiment across the biotech sector rather than any company-specific catalyst," a Kanaph Therapeutics official said. "At the same time, we continue to pursue global licensing opportunities, while our partners' clinical programs are progressing as planned."

손민지 (handmin@edaily.co.kr)