[비즈한국] The momentum of AimedBio, an ADC (Antibody-Drug Conjugate) new drug development company, is intense. On the 4th, it debuted on the KOSDAQ with an offering price of 11,000 won, achieved a "dda-dda-sang" (a 300% jump to close at 44,000 won), and continued to hit the daily upper limit the following day, ultimately surpassing a market capitalization of 3 trillion won. While it has since seen fluctuations, it is fueling expectations that it will grow into a major biotech powerhouse.
From the 4th to the 11th, AimedBio ranked second in net buying by individual investors on the KOSDAQ by trading value. Considering that the top spot was held by KOSDAQ heavy hitter Alteogen, AimedBio’s valuation in the investment market is exceptionally high.
Its market capitalization has also crossed 3 trillion won. As of 11:30 AM on the 12th, it sits between 17th-ranked D&D Pharmatech465710 (3.8562 trillion won) and 19th-ranked EO Technics039030 (3.314 trillion won), firmly establishing itself within the top 20 of the KOSDAQ. With 1,795 companies listed on the KOSDAQ, a newly listed firm just over a week into trading has already entered the top 1% by market cap.
While AimedBio’s initial momentum does not match that of Kakao Games, which topped 4.5 trillion won in market cap on its first day, it has outperformed not only major biotech firms like Celltrion, Alteogen, ABL Bio298380, and LegoChem Biosciences, but also secondary battery giants EcoPro and EcoPro BM. The time it took to reach a 3 trillion won market cap after KOSDAQ listing was 2 years and 2 months for Celltrion, 5 years and 3 months for Alteogen, 6 years and 5 months for ABL Bio, 10 years and 4 months for LegoChem Biosciences, 1 year and 10 months for EcoPro BM, and 15 years and 5 months for EcoPro.
The reasons behind AimedBio’s spotlight can be summarized by the keywords: △ADC new drugs, △pre-IPO technology exports, and △Samsung.
ADC new drugs have become a core trend in the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry since the emergence of Enhertu, a breast, gastric, and lung cancer treatment co-developed by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca in 2019. Enhertu is a global blockbuster drug that recorded global sales of 318.4 billion yen (3.01 trillion won) in the first half of this year. Driven by Enhertu’s rapid growth, the global ADC new drug market is projected to grow at an annual average of 10.5%, from $12.26 billion (18.05 trillion won) last year to $32.11 billion (47.29 trillion won) by 2033, according to global market research firm Grand View Research.
AimedBio differentiates itself from other ADC developers with its proprietary antibody discovery platform, which uses cells collected from cancer patients to identify tumor-selective antibodies. By applying patient-customized data and precision medicine drug screening technology exported to the Austrian company CBmed, there is hope that it can significantly lower the failure rate of clinical trials. AimedBio has also built the payload (therapeutic drug) and linker platforms essential for ADC development.
AimedBio’s technological prowess has been recognized through three technology export contracts finalized before its IPO. On October 15, it exported its ADC new drug candidate "ODS025" to the global German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim for up to $991 million (1.46 trillion won). Previously, in December of last year, it exported its bladder cancer drug candidate "AMB302" to the U.S. biotech company BioHaven, and in May of this year, it exported its solid tumor drug candidate "AMB303" to SK Plasma. Among these, AMB302 has received approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial plan from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is currently undergoing clinical trials.
In particular, AimedBio attracts attention from investors due to its close ties with Samsung. It was spun off from Samsung Medical Center in 2018, and Professor Nam Do-hyun, who served as the head of the Cancer Stem Cell Research Center at Samsung Medical Center, serves as its CTO and Chairman of the Board. It is the only domestic company among the nine biotech firms invested in by the Samsung Life Science Fund, which was created through joint funding from Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis. AimedBio has established itself as an ADC partner for Samsung, including participating in the development of Samsung Biologics’ toolbox for internalizing ADC technology since 2023. Shinhan Securities analysts Lee Ho-cheol and Eom Min-yong observed, "AimedBio possesses experience in exporting technology to big pharma, and with expected synergy from co-development with Samsung Biologics, it will begin a full-scale leap toward becoming a global top-tier player in ADC new drug development."