바이오스펙테이터

by Sungmin Kim

Plan to submit a preliminary listing application for IPO to the Korea Exchange(KRX) on December 1st.

SK bioscience is promoting an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

SK bioscience announced on the 27th that it had held a board of directors at its headquarters in Pangyo and decided to promote listing on the KOSPI. Accordingly, SK bioscience plans to submit an application for IPO preliminary examination to the Korea Exchange(KRX) on the 1st of next month.

Upon receiving the application for preliminary listing review, the KRX will notify the results of the review within 45 days after the listing committee deliberation. SK bioscience said, "We’re planning to submit a stock report to the Financial Services Commission after approval from the Korean Exchange, and then aiming to enter the KOSPI in the first half of next year at the earliest."

SK bioscience previously selected NH Investment & Securities as its representative organizer for IPO, and Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities as co-organizers.

SK bioscience plans to actively respond to rapidly changing external environments such as the spread of COVID-19 infection through IPO and to increase shareholder value through continuous investment and technological innovation. To this end, SK bioscience will continue its efforts to secure market leadership such as △Securing management transparency △Reinforcing financial soundness △Expanding business rapidly △Expanding overseas business and it is expected to grow into a R&D and production platform company in the vaccine and bio field.

Selling self-developed cell culture flu vaccine, shingles vaccine, and chickenpox vaccine, SK bioscience, a vaccine company spun off by SK Chemicals in July 2018, is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its phase 3 clinical trials of typhoid vaccine with International Vaccine Institute, and pediatric enteritis vaccine with global organization PATH. In addition, the next-generation pneumococcal vaccine, which is co-developed with Sanofi Pasteur, is undergoing phase 2 clinical trials in the United States.

On the 24th, SK bioscience started clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, 'NBP2001'. Prior to this, SK bioscience signed a CMO contract for consignment production of AstraZeneca and Oxford University in the UK to consign an undiluted solution and a final product of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in phase 3 clinical trials in July. In addition, in August, SK bioscience signed a CDMO contract for the development, production, and global supply of antigens for COVID-19 vaccine candidates with NovaVax, a US biotechnology company, according to a facility use contract with the international private organization CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations); the production is in progress.