Bispecific antibody platform technology ABL Bio has emerged as the biggest beneficiary in this year's biotech market, signing a string of major technology export deals with global big pharma, including Sanofi, GSK plc, and Eli Lilly.
The company, which was stuck at a market cap of about 500 million won just a few years ago, has recently soared to around 9 trillion won and is on the verge of topping 10 trillion won.
The industry said it is the result of consolidated investor confidence in the global scalability of domestic technology, with expectations spreading quickly as even the possibility of additional tech transfers is being discussed.
Behind ABL Bio's steep growth is the technology prowess of its own blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration platform, "Grabody-B." The global transaction size using this platform is considered among the industry's best, and it is being hailed as the "BBB bellwether" not only in Korea but in the global market.
Heo Hye-min, a Kiwoom Securities researcher, said, "With Lilly's Alzheimer's treatment 'Kisunla' facing side effect issues, ABL's platform technology is highly likely to be applied."
◇ Sole largest shareholder with "23.1% equity"… strengths of an owner-centered system stand out
Founded in 2016 by CEO Lee Sang-hoon, ABL Bio is a new drug corporations that develops bispecific antibody-based immuno-oncology therapies and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. After listing on KOSDAQ in 2018, it transferred technology to Sanofi in 2022 and to GSK and Lilly this year, bringing the cumulative contract value close to 10 trillion won.
Lee reportedly took the lead throughout global negotiations, from the timing of the deal to the fine-tuning of terms, directly driving decision-making. Lee said, "With GSK, I proposed that we wrap up the contract within three months, and we closed the deal quickly."
In the industry, CEO Lee Sang-hoon's strong leadership is cited as a key factor behind the successive technology exports. A biotech industry official said, "As both the technology developer and the overall lead negotiator, the CEO delivered a consistent technology message to global corporations," and noted, "The high level of technological understanding helped secure trust."
The company is currently run under CEO Lee Sang-hoon's sole leadership. Lee's equity stake is 23.02%, or 26.15% including related parties. In 2023, Lee gifted 25,000 shares to his spouse, Yoo Ju-hee, and in Feb. this year, 10,000 shares to his son, Lee Jin-young.
According to Korea Exchange (KRX) data, by the metric of largest treasury share holdings, among 69 domestic pharmaceutical and biotech companies, Lee ranked fourth. He follows No. 1 Park Soon-jae of Alteogen, No. 2 Chair Jeong Sang-su of PharmaResearch, and No. 3 Chair Seo Jung-Jin of Celltrion. The stock has surged 447.9% from the start of the year, and Lee's equity value jumped from 379.7 billion won to about 1.1 trillion won.
◇ Experts: "Stock price swings have a big impact on the CEO's personal asset"… concerns that management decisions could become stock-price centric
There is also criticism that checks and balances are lacking relative to the rapid growth. Key pipeline decisions and platform strategy could depend excessively on the CEO's personal capabilities, and given that stock volatility has a large impact on the CEO's personal asset, there are concerns that management decisions could skew toward the stock price.
Hong Ki-yong, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Incheon, said, "For a founder to continuously develop corporations, it is necessary to expand a governance structure open to the outside and an executive lineup with expertise," and added, "They should strengthen indirect monitoring and cooperation by shareholders and outsiders, and bring in diverse experts to reduce the risks of sole decision-making."
Hong also emphasized, "Through collaborative management that has external openness, diversity, and expertise, corporations can raise added value and make external evaluations more positive."
ABL Bio operates a board of directors and an audit committee and has three outside directors. The company said, "As a KOSDAQ-listed corporation, we operate the board and the audit committee in accordance with regulations and procedures, and as independent bodies we keep each other in check and strive to enhance management transparency."