Jin Yang-gon, HLB Group chair, bought 100 million won worth of shares in affiliate HLB Pep(196300) on the 20th. Jin recently purchased 22,000 shares of HLB Pep on the open market over five transactions.
HLB Pep makes active pharmaceutical ingredients and develops new drugs. With the stock down more than 20% over the past three months, the purchases are seen as aiming to defend the share price and show confidence in the value of the corporations.
HLB said on Oct. 10 that the liver cancer drug Rivoceranib failed to win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It applied for a regimen used with Camrelizumab, an anticancer drug from China's Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, but failed three times.
As the news dampened investment sentiment across the group, Jin has been buying affiliate shares in succession. Last month, Jin bought shares in HLB Therapeutics(115450), HLB Genex(187420), and HLB Panagene(046210). An HLB Pep official said the company would "raise the value of the corporations."