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Exterior view of Alteogen headquarters. (Photo: Alteogen) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] On June 4, Alteogen's stock closed at 381,000 KRW on the KOSDAQ market, marking an 8.86% increase from the previous day. During intraday trading, the stock reached as high as 388,000 KRW.
Alteogen’s market capitalization swiftly surpassed 20 trillion KRW, rising from 18.7 trillion KRW on June 2 to approximately 20.37 trillion KRW, an increase of over 1.6 trillion KRW in just two days.
The surge followed the announcement on June 3 that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board officially commenced a Post-Grant Review (PGR) process regarding a patent dispute raised by Alteogen’s partner Merck (MSD) against Halozyme’s subcutaneous injection (SC) formulation patent.
Last year, a foreign securities firm suggested that ALT-B4, used in MSD’s immuno-oncology drug Keytruda SC, might infringe on Halozyme’s patent. In response, MSD filed for the PGR in November 2023 to challenge the validity of Halozyme’s patent.
The Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board initiates PGR proceedings when it deems the patent’s invalidity more probable. Therefore, the start of the PGR process is seen as resolving uncertainties related to the new product launch scheduled for October this year.
Buoyed by these expectations, Alteogen’s stock price surged sharply at the market open and maintained its upward momentum throughout the day.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
