CJ Bioscience research and development employees are leaving the company in large numbers, drawing attention to the background. The company also recently voluntarily halted clinical trials for an immuno-oncology drug and is revising its business strategy. Based on microbiomes—microorganisms in the body—the company had researched anticancer drugs since 2019 but ended development after seven years.
CJ Bioscience said on the 21st that first-quarter consolidation revenue this year was about 800 million won. That was down 14% from a year earlier. The operating loss was 5.3 billion won, narrowing from 6.6 billion won a year earlier. Research and development expenses fell 26% to 3.3 billion won.
To make matters worse, the company is also seeing a large-scale employee exodus. CJ Bioscience's total head count decreased by 27 (21%), from 129 at the end of 2024 to 102 at the end of last year. Of those who left during the same period, 17 were research and development staff. Research staff departures have continued this year as well.
Some say this is not unrelated to CJ Bioscience changing its business direction. CJ Bioscience recently halted clinical trials for CJRB-101, a microbiome immuno-oncology drug candidate. The company had been conducting trials in Korea and the United States by administering it in combination with Merck's Keytruda to patients with solid tumors such as Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma.
However, the company abruptly withdrew the trial on its own. After reviewing the progress of phase 1, it concluded that not moving to phase 2 would be better. Patients who participated in the trial will continue to be monitored for safety on humanitarian grounds.
Microbiomes were once seen within the CJ Group as a growth engine for biotech. Tens of trillions of microorganisms live in the human body, most residing in the digestive tract. The company's goal was to develop anticancer drugs and more based on microorganisms closely linked to human health.
Microbiome anticancer drugs are based on the human immune system. That gives them the advantage of expanding indications to various cancers beyond specific ones. According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), the global microbiome anticancer drug market is expected to grow from $12.6 million (19 billion won) in 2024 to $40.7 million (61 billion won) in 2029.
But succeeding in developing microbiome anticancer drugs is not easy. Not only does new drug development take a long time, but the gut microbiome can vary by person depending on diet and lifestyle. CJ Bioscience is also seen to have withdrawn the trial after being unable to bear enormous research costs roughly four times revenue.
The only microbiome research left at the company is CJRB-201, a candidate therapy for intestinal diseases. The intestinal disease therapy is in the preclinical stage and has not yet entered clinical trials. A CJ Bioscience official said, "After reviewing the commercial value of the candidate in line with the rapidly changing new drug development environment, we decided to halt the trial," adding, "This does not mean there were flaws in the trial itself or that it failed." The official added, "We plan to focus on other research using the data and know-how obtained from the trial."
CJ Bioscience plans to focus on the health and wellness business this year. A company official said, "We will establish ourselves in the personalized wellness market," adding, "We will build a structure in which we secure a stable cash cow through health and wellness and then reinvest in new drug research and development (R&D)."