On the back of U.S. airstrikes on Iran, Korea's stock market posted a record plunge, with pharmaceutical and biotech shares also tumbling. In the midst of this, iNtRON Biotechnology, a KOSDAQ-listed bio corporations in its 15th year on the market, alone jumped about 30% to hit the upper price limit. However, with no visible progress such as entering clinical trials or signing partnerships, the market largely views this as a temporary rebound.
According to the industry on the 9th, the market capitalization of the pharmaceutical and biotech sector evaporated by a total of 33.8951 trillion won in one day on the 4th due to the impact of the U.S.-Iran war. While most stocks plunged, iNtRON Biotechnology rose 29.96% to hit the upper price limit. It was the sole gainer despite no new filings or announcements.
iNtRON Biotechnology is a biotech venture developing new drugs based on bacteriophage technology. Founded in 1999, it listed on KOSDAQ in 2011 and marks its 15th year on the market this year. A bacteriophage is a type of virus and means "bacteria predator." It has recently drawn attention as a new therapy to replace antibiotics.
The market sees the delayed spotlight on bactericidal efficacy data for the key pipeline "SAL200," unveiled at the AMR Conference 2026, a major global event in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) field held in Switzerland on Feb. 26, as the driver.
AMR is directly tied to a global health crisis and is a market where multinational drugmakers and research institutions are focused. As the market broadly plunged on war risk, some read the move as highlighting the appeal of a platform corporations addressing the structural, long-term issue of antibiotic resistance.
SAL200 is a drug candidate that directly breaks down bacterial cell walls to kill them immediately. According to clinical results released at the event, SAL200 works by collapsing the bacterial structure itself, unlike existing antibiotics that inhibit bacterial proliferation. In particular, it showed rapid bactericidal effects even against multidrug-resistant strains that respond poorly to existing antibiotics.
The reason the market reacted to expectations for SAL200 is that it is the only substance in the company's pipeline that has entered the clinical stage. In November 2018, SAL200 was out-licensed to a Swiss Roivant subsidiary in a deal worth about 1.15 trillion won, but it was returned in June 2022. After that, in Oct. 2023, a conditional technology transfer agreement was signed with another Swiss drugmaker, Basilea, but negotiations fell through as Basilea did not proceed with the contract. The company is currently seeking a new partner.
SAL200 confirmed safety and tolerability in phase 1 and phase 2a. In Jan. 2022, it received phase 2b investigational new drug (IND) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, because the U.S. phase 2b—where the expense burden is heavy—is planned to proceed through a partner, the actual trial has not begun for the third year since approval.
The market atmosphere leans toward this upper-limit move being temporary. Profitability has not improved since the pandemic, and the company has not secured a clear global partner.
The share-price trend had also been sluggish for a long time. iNtRON Biotechnology once rose intraday to 34,500 won in early 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic on the strength of its PCR-based molecular diagnostics business. But the downtrend continued as no clear catalyst emerged to replace the COVID boom. On Jan. 20, it even fell to 2,895 won.
Analysts say the controlling shareholder's equity sale also affected investor sentiment. In Jan., Chief Executive Yoon Sung-joon, founder of iNtRON Biotechnology, sold 1 million shares (a 2.93% stake) over the counter. Yoon runs the company with his younger brother, Chief Executive Yoon Kyung-won.
Results also deteriorated. Revenue peaked at 45.4 billion won in 2020 and fell to 5.7 billion won last year, while operating losses widened to 7.9 billion won in the same year.
The industry believes the fact that technology research and development has yet to translate into commercial results has weighed on the share price trend. If visible progress such as entering phase 2b or signing partnerships does not follow, volatility could increase again.