| Celivery listed on the KOSDAQ as ‘Special Company No. 1’ [사진 한국거래소] |
[헤럴드경제=박영훈 기자] “Does it make sense for the stock price of 100,000 won to go up to 9,000 won? I lost tens of thousands of won” (Investor)
“Contrary to the saying that investing can change the class of your life, it has ruined your life” (Investor)
“Bio companies have no performance in their main business, only making cosmetics” (Investor)
There is a bio company whose stock price, which had risen to 100,000 won, plummeted to 9,000 won, putting investors in trouble. Cellivery, which was considered one of the promising bio companies of ‘Special Listing No. 1’. Although the ransom for Bio has come down significantly due to interest rate hikes and the economic recession, this company’s case is a bit harsh.
The stock price, which was over 100,000 won in January 2021, has now plummeted to 9,000 won. Shares plummeted more than 90%. Investors who believed in it are expressing their resentment, saying, “Your life looks ruined.”
Cellivery was listed on the KOSDAQ as the first special company in November 2018. After going public, they said they would make sales through out-licensing, but four years later, they still haven’t made any significant progress.
Cellivery is a bio company that researches and develops new drug candidates and research reagents. It aims to complete the development of four new bio drugs, including a treatment for Parkinson’s disease and pancreatic cancer. Even though it is a company in the red, it benefited from the ‘special listing’ that allowed it to enter the KOSDAQ based on its growth potential.
Investors packed their money and rushed at the news that Cellivery was developing a drug candidate for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (iCP-Parkin). However, it has been in the non-clinical stage for several years.
An industry insider said, “Since entering the KOSDAQ with the achievements of new drug development technology, we have never achieved the goal we set out to achieve.”
Cellivery is losing hundreds of billions of won every year. Losses are also increasing. When the five-year special period expires after listing, operating profits must be made. Some point out that Cellivery is using a trick to avoid designation as a management item by transferring (L/O) the source technology to its cosmetics subsidiary.
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| celivery |
On top of that, the fact that Cellivery CEO Dae-woong Cho bought back 1.2 million shares he owned also fueled the stock price plunge. CEO Dae-woong Cho, the largest shareholder, recently executed a stock mortgage loan through a repurchase agreement for 1.2 million shares, or about 19%, of the 6.7 million shares he owns.
A stock purchase agreement under a repurchase agreement is a transaction in which stocks are entrusted and funds are borrowed. It is a conditional stock sale in which stocks are sold, but can be bought back after a certain period of time. Some investors are concerned that this may be a paving stone to sell management rights.
An official from the bio industry said, “In a situation where bio companies are already having difficulties in raising funds, distrust in bio is bound to grow if the symbolic company, ‘the first listed company for special cases’, fails to keep the promise presented when listing.” .