During June 2023, nine unlisted bio and healthcare companies in Korea successfully completed their financing initiatives, raising a total amount of 86.6 billion won. These companies were able to secure funding through a range of investment cycles, starting from initial investments to late-stage investments, while also considering early returns.
In comparison to the same period last year, the number and size of procurement companies decreased significantly. However, when compared to the previous month of May, there was a slight increase noted. This suggests that the bio-investment market, which experienced a decline in the second half of the previous year, may be gradually recovering with improving investor sentiment.
Based on a count and analysis conducted by Hit News, it was found that nine domestic bio and healthcare companies successfully raised funds in the previous month. These companies included four new drug development bio-enterprises and five healthcare services and medical device companies. The funding was secured through various investment rounds, ranging from seed investments to pre-IPO funding.
June exhibited the strongest investment performance on a monthly basis, despite the overall sluggish investment environment this year. This can be attributed to institutional investors completing discussions, investment resolutions, and capital action procedures in June, which is also the final month of the first half of the year.
However, both the amount and number of funding and acquisition companies experienced a decline compared to the same period last year. Funding in June this year was only half of what it was in June last year (173.1 billion won). Furthermore, the number of companies that successfully secured funding was also lower compared to the second half of June last year (17 companies). This reflects the ongoing stagnation in the bio-investment market, suggesting that the market is yet to fully recover from the downturn earlier this year.
In June 2022, the overall funding performance was worse compared to June 2021, primarily due to factors such as high inflation, high interest rates, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the significant increase in the threshold for IPO listing of bio and healthcare companies. These concerns surrounding the economic downturn have hampered the recovery of the market this year.
Among the companies that raised funds in June this year, Oreum Therapeutics stood out by securing the highest amount of funding through their Series C Bridge round, amounting to 26 billion won. Oreum Therapeutics has been attracting considerable attention in the bioinvestment market with their cutting-edge technology called ‘targeted protein degrader (TPD)’, which focuses on degrading specific target proteins for therapeutic purposes. Since its establishment in 2016, Oreum Therapeutics has raised a total of 130 billion won.
Notably, institutional investors also made investments in companies that raised funds before their listing, such as Novmetapharma and Optolane. The change in the government’s stance towards the bio industry, along with other favorable conditions, has led to a gradual increase in activity in the bio IPO market. This can be seen as a positive sign, indicating that the market is recovering from its previous lows.
In June last year, the number of fundings from unlisted bio and healthcare companies doubled compared to the same period this year. However, there were no pre-IPO investments during that time. This may be attributed to the increased listing threshold set by KOSDAQ for biotech companies, causing many technologically capable companies to face difficulties in the lead-up to their listing.
Furthermore, in June this year, various investment rounds were observed, ranging from seed investments to Series A to C. AboMD, for instance, raised an impressive 6.5 billion won through seed investment, marking a significant milestone in domestic biotech investment history. The strategic investments made by two pharmaceutical companies further strengthened AboMD’s position.
An industry insider suggests that while the scale of funding and the number of companies securing investments are still lower compared to the previous year, there are emerging opinions in the market that the worst times may be behind us. In order to leverage this optimistic trend, it is essential for companies to establish robust acquisition and investment strategies.
Overall, the bio and healthcare investment landscape in Korea remains dynamic, with the market slowly recovering and showing promising signs of improvement. This highlights the importance of staying updated and adapting to the evolving investment climate for the success of bio and healthcare companies.
During June 2023, nine unlisted bio and healthcare companies in Korea completed financing. The total amount of money they raised is 86.6 billion won, and they managed to raise money through various investment cycles, from initial investment to late investment taking into account early returns (exit).
In the case of June, the number and size of procurement companies decreased significantly compared to the same period last year, but compared to the previous month (May), it was found to have increased slightly. Although the bio-investment market, which entered a slump in the second half of last year, is still in a cooling phase, some analyze that investor sentiment is gradually improving.
According to a Hit News count and analysis on the 2nd, nine domestic bio and healthcare companies successfully raised money last month (based on stock payment date). There were four new drug development bio-enterprises and five healthcare services and medical device companies. Funding was secured through various investment rounds, from seed investments to pre-IPO (pre-IPO).
Amid the general sluggish investment this year, June showed the greatest investment performance on a monthly basis. Traditionally, institutional investors complete discussions and investment resolution, and capital action procedures (capital call) in June, the last month of the first half of the year, which seems to have been influenced by this.
However, compared to the same period last year, the amount of funding and acquisition companies decreased. The amount of funding in June this year was halved compared to June last year (173.1 billion won). The number of companies that managed to acquire was also in the second half of June last year (17 places). Compared to last year, this year’s atmosphere of stagnation in the bio-investment market continues, and it is also interpreted that both minds have revived compared to the beginning of the year.
In June 2022, overall funding performance was worse than in June 2021, a year ago. At the time, this was due to the effects of high inflation, high interest rates, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the rapid increase in the threshold for listing via IPO of bio and healthcare companies. Compared to the past, two veins have not fully recovered this year due to concerns about the economic downturn.
In June this year, Oreum Therapeutics (Series C Bridge, KRW 26 billion) raised the most money. Orum Therapeutics is a biotech that is attracting a lot of attention in the bioinvestment market with its ‘targeted protein degrader (TPD)’, a technology that degrades target proteins belonging to the cutting edge therapeutic approach he has Since its establishment in 2016, it has raised 130 billion won so far.
They found that institutional investors also invested in companies that raised money before listing, such as Novmetapharma and Optolane. At the beginning of the year, it is interpreted that as the government, including the Korea Exchange, gradually changed the stance towards bio, the bio IPO market started to heat up a little at a time. In particular, the interpretation that the market has moved according to the forecasts that the IPO period, which has shrunk this year is past its worst, is gaining strength.
In the case of June last year, the number of financings from unlisted bio and healthcare companies doubled compared to the same period this year, but there were no pre-IPO investments. Following the raising of KOSDAQ’s threshold for biotech targeting, it seems unrelated to the fact that many companies with technological capability have suffered in the lead-up to listing.
In June this year, it is worth noting that various investment rounds were held, from seed investments (AboMD, BiohEats) to Series A to C. In particular, AboMD raised 6.5 billion earned from seed investment. The seed investment of more than 6 billion won is considered to be the highest in the history of domestic biotech investment. Two pharmaceutical companies joined as strategic investors (SI) and gave us strength.
An industry insider said, “The scale of funding and the number of companies that have managed to secure investment is still less than in the previous year, but there is also an opinion in different parts of the market that the times worst is past.” It appears that an acquisition and investment strategy needs to be established.”
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