[비즈한국] Biotech company Alteogen196170 is officially moving forward with its transfer to the KOSPI market. As a platform company, Alteogen is expected to lead the bio-industry, following in the footsteps of Samsung Biologics207940 and Celltrion068270, and the transfer is also expected to have a positive impact on capital supply.
Alteogen received approval for the KOSPI transfer at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held at the Daejeon Convention Center on the 8th. It garnered overwhelming support, with over 90% of attending shareholders voting in favor. Alteogen will file for delisting from the KOSDAQ market, conditional on its listing on the Korea Exchange's KOSPI market, and then begin the preliminary review process for listing on the KOSPI. It must pass a qualitative evaluation that examines KOSPI listing requirements, as well as business continuity and management transparency. Once the process is complete, the transfer is expected to take place between the second and third quarters of next year. An Alteogen official said, “Our goal is to complete the transfer process within next year.”
Once Alteogen, currently the largest company by market cap on the KOSDAQ, transfers to the KOSPI, there is a high possibility of early inclusion in the KOSPI 200 index. If a company that transfers to the KOSPI maintains a position within the top 50 in market capitalization for 15 trading days after listing, it can be included in the KOSPI 200 index early. Based on the closing price that day, Alteogen’s market capitalization was 24.5057 trillion won. If applied to the KOSPI, it would be considered a large-cap stock, positioned between 28th-ranked Samsung SDI006400 (25.3039 trillion won) and 29th-ranked Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance000810 (22.9136 trillion won). Among pharmaceutical and biotech companies, it ranks third, following Samsung Biologics (4th, 75.408 trillion won) and Celltrion (12th, 43.2128 trillion won).
If Alteogen is included in the KOSPI 200 index, a large-scale inflow of passive funds from institutional and foreign investors is expected, making financing more stable and advantageous. Domestic and international funds that track the KOSPI 200 index are required to purchase the stocks included in the index. Consequently, it is expected that hundreds of billions to over 1 trillion won in capital could flow in over a short period. This could help boost Alteogen’s stock price in the short term. Furthermore, while the growth-oriented KOSDAQ has a high proportion of individual investors, the KOSPI is perceived as more stable and suitable for long-term investment due to its high proportion of large-cap stocks, which industry experts believe could further elevate the company’s status.
Some view Alteogen’s KOSPI transfer as a product of the growth of KOSDAQ-listed companies and are paying attention to the growth trend of the bio-industry. Alteogen’s corporate value has soared as its platform ‘ALT-B4 (berahyaluronidase alfa),’ which converts IV (intravenous) formulations of biopharmaceuticals into SC (subcutaneous) formulations, was applied to the cancer drug Keytruda, the world’s top-selling drug by revenue. Its market cap was 15.9956 trillion won on January 2nd of this year, but it has since increased by more than 53%. For MSD (Merck), the SC formulation was essential to maintain its market dominance for Keytruda ahead of the expiration of its material patent in 2028, and it secured that alternative through Alteogen’s platform technology. Lee Seung-kyu, Vice Chairman of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, said, “Alteogen is significant not only in terms of its market cap and business model but also its position in the field of new drug development. I hope it plays a bigger role after moving to the KOSPI,” adding, “It is good for the development of the pharmaceutical and biotech ecosystem to see many biotech firms grow in KOSDAQ and move to KOSPI.”
Concerns about the KOSDAQ market are also emerging due to Alteogen’s transfer. As of that day, there are 1,811 companies listed on the KOSDAQ, and Alteogen accounts for about 5% of the total KOSDAQ market cap (501 trillion won), making it a significant portion. There is fear that the departure of such a leading stock could lower interest in the KOSDAQ market and reduce stock trading volumes for listed companies. This is a problem that was raised whenever large-cap stocks like NCSoft, Naver, Kakao, Celltrion, and POSCO DX transferred to the KOSPI. An industry official said, “A transfer to the KOSPI could have a negative impact on the KOSDAQ market itself,” adding, “I hope that the KOSDAQ market revitalization policies to be announced by the government in the future will reduce the need for KOSPI transfers.”