S.Korea's SK Biopharmaceuticals shares soar 30% in market debut (updated)

SK Biopharmaceuticals Co

02/07/2020 01:35

(Adds stock move, background and analyst comment)
    SEOUL, July 2 (Reuters) - SK Biopharmaceuticals Co Ltd
 326030.KS  saw its share price jump nearly 30% in a Seoul stock
market debut on Thursday, as the initial public offering (IPO)
market gathers steam after the novel coronavirus outbreak
stalled potential listings.
    SK Biopharmaceuticals' shares debuted at double their IPO
price on Thursday at 98,000 won, valuing the company about 7.7
trillion won ($6.41 billion).
    In early morning trade, the stock rose as much as 29.6% from
its opening price to 127,000 won, compared with a 0.7% rise in
the wider KOSPI  .KS11 .
    The company, the first South Korean firm to receive U.S.
Food and Drug Administration approval for an independently
developed drug, priced its IPO last month at 49,000 won per
share, the top of its indicative range.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2DW22I
    Investors are betting on strong growth for SK
Biopharmaceuticals which makes a drug called Xcopri, a treatment
for epilepsy.
    Analysts said a slew of pharmaceutical and biotech companies
around the world have been scrambling to find ways to move their
initial public offerings forward, as they are less immune to
volatile market swings. 
    "The listing by SK Biopharmaceuticals could ignite South
Korea's IPO market that has shrunk sharply in the first half of
this year due to the pandemic, potentially helping spur a
recovery in the market," said analyst Lee Sang-hun at Hi
Investment & Securities.
    The drugmaker set up a U.S. sales office and began
distribution of the anti-epilepsy drug in the United States in
May, and "the volume of prescriptions exceeded our
expectations," Chief Executive Cho Jeong-woo told a news
conference last month.
    The firm expects the drug to be ready to launch in Europe in
2021. It has also developed and licensed out a narcolepsy
treatment that has received U.S. and European approval, and has
a pipeline of eight compounds in development.
    
($1 = 1,200.6800 won)

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Shri
Navaratnam and Christopher Cushing)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 6936 1470;))