Rznomics extends rally, shares up 576% from IPO price[K-Bio Pulse]

[NA Eun-kyung, Edaily Reporter] Shares of Rznomics surged on Tuesday marking the third day of trading for the newly listed biotech company and extending a strong rally that began with a triple limit up debut. The stock hit the daily price ceiling for a second consecutive session, underscoring investor enthusiasm.

Stock performances among leading Korean biotech materials parts and equipment companies were mixed. Amicogen and Microdigital moved in opposite directions reflecting contrasting business developments.

Drug delivery system developer Inventagelab saw its shares fall after news that its oral drug platform patent application had received a rejection notice from the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

Rznomics CI. (Image=Rznomics)

◇ How long can Rznomics continue its rally

Rznomics which listed on the KOSDAQ on July 18 under the technology special listing track, has posted an explosive rally. According to KG Zeroin MP Doctor, the stock rose 300% on its debut day and hit the daily limit again on July 19 and July 22.

Within three trading days, its market capitalization reached 2.09 trillion won, with shares closing at 152,100 won. The company’s IPO price was set at 22,500 won, implying a market capitalization of 309.5 billion won at listing.

Founded in 2017, Rznomics develops oncology and rare disease therapies based on an RNA editing and correction platform using RNA replacement enzymes. In May it signed a global license agreement worth about 1.9 trillion won with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to develop RNA editing therapies.

Despite securing a deal with a global big pharma company just ahead of its IPO, industry observers noted that the offering price was set at a relatively modest level. In addition, only 35.27% of Rznomics’ shares are available for trading from the listing date through the first month.

Still questions remain over how much further the stock can rise, as shares have already climbed 576% from the IPO price. Its market capitalization is now approaching or exceeding those of peers with similar technologies.

Milestone payments from the Eli Lilly deal are expected to be received next year. Rznomics is targeting license out deals for RZ-003 in 2027 and RX-004 in 2028. The company plans to attend the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco next month to promote itself in pursuit of another major deal.

A Rznomics official said meetings at the conference would cover discussions on its internal pipelines RZ-001, RX-003 and RX-004 as well as talks on new material transfer agreements. The company is also in talks with several global pharmaceutical companies over potential platform-based deals similar to its agreement with Eli Lilly.



◇Diverging paths for biotech materials and equipment makers



Shares of Microdigital and Amicogen, two leading Korean biotech materials parts and equipment companies moved in opposite directions on the day. Microdigital jumped 11.89% after announcing on July 19 that it would supply in house developed equipment to Celltrion.

Amicogen, by contrast, disclosed after market close on July 19 that it would conduct a 30 billion won rights offering. The stock fell 29.91% to close at 1,945 won on July 22, its first trading day after the announcement. Of the proceeds, 11.3 billion won will be used for operating expenses and 18.7 billion won for debt repayment.

Amicogen has sold stakes in affiliates including Skinmed, Bifido and Amicogen China since last year to secure liquidity and improve its financial structure. However, sluggish sales growth in its core resin and cell culture media businesses has made additional fundraising unavoidable.

Under its goal of localizing biotech materials and equipment, Amicogen completed construction of a cell culture media plant in Incheon’s Songdo district last year. The company invested about 100 billion won in building the Songdo facility and a resin plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. Meaningful orders have yet to materialize slowing the recovery of its investment.

Microdigital 'THEBAG' (Image=Microdigital)

Microdigital, meanwhile, has delivered a series of positive updates since early this year. After entering the North American market through a partnership with U.S. based Parker Hannifin, the company announced that it will begin supplying its single use cell culture bag, branded The Bag, to Celltrion from year-end.

The Bag is used to transport and store cell culture media, enable aseptic sampling and support cryogenic storage in biologics manufacturing. As biologics account for a growing share of pharmaceuticals, market research firm MarketsandMarkets projects the global single-use bag market to reach about 6 trillion won by 2028.

Microdigital had supplied single use bags to Celltrion for research purposes since 2023 but this marks the first time its product has been adopted in an actual manufacturing process. The company’s next goal is to have its single use bioreactor, CELBIC, applied to production lines.



◇Inventagelab faces scrutiny over oral formulation patent

Shares of Inventagelab closed at 78,800 won, down 8.58% from the previous session. Earlier in the day, news spread that its oral drug development platform IVL-PePOFluidic had received a second office action from the Korean Intellectual Property Office during the patent review process, weighing on investor sentiment.

IVL-PePOFluidic is an oral drug platform developed based on Inventagelab’s IVL-GeneFluidic technology. The company is working to convert peptide drugs, particularly glucagon-like peptide-1 treatments used for obesity, into oral formulations.

Human clinical data for IVL-PePOFluidic have not yet been released. However, Inventagelab drew attention in April by 발표ing beagle dog data for IVL3027, which combines IVL-PePOFluidic with semaglutide. Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide drug Rybelsus showed bioavailability of just 0% to 2.7% in beagles compared with its injectable counterpart Wegovy, while IVL3027 recorded bioavailability exceeding 24% in animal tests.

Inventagelab filed a provisional patent application for IVL-PePOFluidic with the Korean Intellectual Property Office in November 2023, followed by a full domestic application and an international Patent Cooperation Treaty filing in November 2024. The company is currently pursuing an expedited review process.

Receiving an office action should not be interpreted as a final rejection. In many cases, two or three rounds of office actions and company responses occur before a final patent decision is made. After Inventagelab submits amendments, the patent office may grant approval or request further revisions.

“This office action does not represent a final rejection but is part of the standard patent examination process that most technologies go through” an Inventagelab official said.

“Our goal is not simply to increase the number of registered patents but to secure strong and competitive intellectual property rights. We plan to request re-examination in the near future.”