Hana Securities evaluated on the 30th that the controversy over patent candidates of IntoCell is 'nitpicking' and could be an opportunity for low-priced purchases.
IntoCell recently faced stock adjustments after substance No. 3 (NxT3) surfaced, which has a structure similar to a patent first filed in China. Kim Seon-a, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, noted, 'NxT3 is one of more than 30 follow-up substances related to the anticancer drug "Nexatecan." If a better substance is discovered, all problems will be resolved.'
Researcher Kim emphasized that IntoCell's linker platform is OHPAS. A linker is a core technology of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). ADC is a technology that delivers drugs (payloads) accurately to cancer cells by attaching them to antibodies that bind to the cancer cells. The linker connects the antibodies and payloads.
Researcher Kim stated, 'Nexatecan is merely one of the payloads that can be connected to OHPAS,' and added, 'The excellence of OHPAS can be proven regardless of whether it involves Nexatecan.' Moreover, 'Nexatecan was initially developed because OHPAS existed.'
The fact that IntoCell is still in the early development stage requiring human safety evaluations, having only been validated up to preclinical stages, is a risk factor. However, researcher Kim noted that through various animal experiments, stability and cancer-specific effects have been confirmed, and the collaboration relationship with Samsung Bioepis is still maintained.
Researcher Kim mentioned, 'Right now, when there could be a patent issue that might not even be a problem, it could be an opportunity to buy IntoCell at a low price,' and expressed hope that the atmosphere could turn around with new cooperative contracts in the second half or the disclosure of existing partners' new drug pipelines, concluding that it is a corporation that can achieve this.