Seven Biotech Startups Pursue KOSDAQ Listings With ADC, AI Platforms

This emerging group of South Korean biotech startups is demonstrating commercial traction through substantial partnerships. Pinobio, for instance, struck a $1.2428 billion deal for its ADC platform with Celltrion in 2022. Kaigene secured a $744 million licensing deal with Celltrion last year, followed by an additional $580.5 million contract this month for its multispecific antibody technology. Breeze Biotech also reported a $629 million deal with Genentech in 2024 for its gene delivery platform.

These ventures are developing novel drug candidates and precision medicine solutions. NexaI licensed an immuno-oncology candidate to Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical in 2024 and signed a material transfer agreement with Celltrion Pharm for an ADC candidate this year. Illimis Therapeutics is conducting joint research with Eli Lilly on a brain disease drug platform, while Galux is working with AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim on AI-based protein design technology.

The reported partnerships suggest these next-generation technologies hold considerable commercial interest, even for companies founded recently. Inocras and Galux were established in 2020, NexaI and Illimis Therapeutics in 2021, and Kaigene in 2022, indicating a rapid progression to securing global collaborations. NexaI is currently the furthest along in its listing process, with public subscription planned for next month after institutional book-building by the end of this month.