Seo Jeong-jin makes 50 sets of Celltrion and leaves… Corona treatment last match issue

“I’m Celltrion at the end of this year(360,500 0.00%)I will leave the group and start a new venture as it was 19 years ago.”

Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jeong-jin takes on a new challenge. When he turns 65, he establishes a startup early next year and returns as a venture business. Chairman Seo, who founded Celltrion in 2002, was also evaluated as a “a fraudster who only speaks without possibility,” but with his strong heart, he established the current Celltrion Group.

Chairman Seo also declared the sale of management rights in 2013, saying, “I was tired of the fight against the power of short selling.” However, with the success of the world’s first antibody biosimilar (bio-replicating drug) developed by itself, the current Celltrion was created. Chairman Seo will withdraw from the front line on the 31st. However, as the development of an antibody treatment for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) is underway, it is planning to play the role of the official chairman until the general shareholders’ meeting in March next year.

According to the financial investment industry on the 30th, Celltrion stocks are receiving hot attention. Celltrion’s share price, which fell to the 130,000 won range in March this year, rose to 4,3500 won on the 7th, breaking the record high. The stock price soared more than 99% this year alone, and the market cap is approaching 50 trillion won. Celltrion Healthcare in charge of overseas sales of Celltrion products(165,300 -1.55%), Celltrion Pharmaceutical in charge of domestic sales(242,500 -3.04%)Together, the market cap alone exceeds 80 trillion won.

The news of the application for conditional permission for the treatment of Corona 19 stimulated investor sentiment. Antibody treatment drugs in clinical trials by Celltrion are high and there are few companies in development, so there are high expectations for exports.

“If the patent for expensive medicines is released, let’s make and sell generic drugs”

Chairman Seo, who is from Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, is neither a bio major nor a pharmaceutical company. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, graduated from Konkuk University’s industrial engineering in 1983(178,500 +0.85%)I started my first social life in. Afterwards, he moved to the Korea Productivity Center in 1985 and took charge of corporate consulting. It was Kim Woo-jung, chairman of Daewoo Group, who recognized Chairman Seo. Chairman Kim selected Chairman Seo and brought it to Daewoo Motors in 1992. Chairman Seo became the youngest Daewoo Motor Company executive in his mid-30s.

However, as Daewoo Group was disbanded in 1997 due to the IMF crisis, Chairman Seo was also unemployed in 1999. At the time, he was 42 years old. There was no company that accepted unemployed people in their 40s. That is why Chairman Seo created Nexol, a venture company with six Daewoo Motors colleagues. He did everything that paid off from management consulting to food imports and funeral services. But one failed together. It is the time when we realize that passion alone cannot succeed.

Then I discovered a biosimilar. Chairman Seo came to the idea that if the patent for an expensive drug was released, a generic drug with the same efficacy and safety could be made and sold at a low price. He found a possibility in a business that no one thought of.

In 2000, Chairman Seo founded Nexel Biotech and visited Genentech, an American biotechnology company. At that time, Genentech was famous for herceptin, a biopharmaceutical for breast cancer treatment. Chairman Seo proposed a technology transfer ahead of the expiration of the patent for the remaining 15 years, but was knocked out. However, with the continued efforts of Chairman Seo, Genentech’s subsidiary Bexgen looked at him. Afterwards, Chairman Suh transferred the AIDS vaccine technology developed by Bexgen in 2001 and founded Celltrion in 2002.

Counterattack with’consignment production’ in crisis of bankruptcy

The following year, in 2003, Chairman Seo collected investments and began to build a 50,000-liter factory in Songdo, Incheon. However, in 2004, a year before completion, it was announced that Phase 3 clinical trials of Bexgen’s AIDS vaccine had failed. In fact, it is in crisis of bankruptcy.

Nevertheless, Chairman Seo did not stop. They even spent their bonds and focused on the completion of the factory. At that time, the mayor criticized Seo as a’fraud’. Suspicion continued when he said that he would only build a factory while the AIDS vaccine he had decided to make was frustrated.

Despite criticism from inside and outside the industry, Chairman Seo completed the plant in March 2005, and three months later signed a consignment production (CMO) of Orencia, a rheumatoid arthritis treatment, with BMS, a multinational pharmaceutical company. It is a counterattack against those who criticize themselves as scammers.

In the next five years, Celltrion grew rapidly with sales of 63.5 billion won as a CMO business. The CMO business was on track when the difficult factory was approved by the FDA for the first time in Asia.

Chairman Seo’s challenge did not stop. Chairman Seo had regrets about the failure of the AIDS vaccine in the past. It was determined that in order for the company to advance to the next level, it should focus on biosimilars instead of stable CMO business.

In 2009, Celltrion made a decision to discontinue BMS’ CMO business. For the next three years, he focused on researching the antibody biosimilar’Remsima’. It was from this time that the attack of the short selling force began. When Remsima entered the global clinical trial phase, Celltrion was under intensive short-selling attacks for two years from the end of 2011. 30% of the total transaction volume was large enough to account for short selling.

The chairman was exhausted from the continued short-selling attacks, and eventually announced the sale of the stake. This is because short selling was tired of fighting the forces. At the time, Chairman Seo said, “In order to prevent minority shareholders from harming the illegal short selling forces, we poured out hundreds of billions of billions of dollars that had to be spent on corporate operating funds to buy back treasury stocks.” I will try.”

Remsimada, the world’s first antibody biosimilar, caught Seo. When Remsima was approved in Europe in August of that year, short-selling attacks began to subside. Afterwards, Celltrion took a leap again as the UK National Institute of Health and Clinical Research and other regulatory agencies recognized the efficacy of Remsima.

Biosimilar success… From biobetters to antibody treatments

Chairman Suh succeeded in successively succeeding other biosimilars such as Heo Zuma and Truxima, and rapidly grew Celltrion. At the same time, it started fostering biobetters as future foods. If the biosimilar is a clone of an existing new drug, the biobetter can be said to be a high-profit product with improved efficacy and frequency of administration.

Earlier this year, Celltrion developed and started selling a biobetter that improved Remsima, an intravenous (IV) form, into a subcutaneous injection (SC) form. Remsima SC sales in the third quarter of this year have nearly doubled compared to the previous quarter, establishing themselves as future food.

Experts predict that Celltrion, which exceeded 1 trillion won in annual sales last year, will achieve sales of 1.86 trillion won this year. Existing Pharmaceutical Big 5 (Yuhan Corporation(74,700 +1.08%) GC Green Cross(407,500 +5.03%) Chong Kun Dang(229,000 +5.77%) Daewoong Pharmaceutical(164,500 0.00%) Hanmi Pharmaceutical(365,000 +4.73%)), and this year, it can rise to the top of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry sales.

Interest in the stock price is also rising. After the news of the Corona 19 treatment was delivered on the 7th, the three Celltrion brothers continued to rise. Stock prices raised the target price of Celltrion to a maximum of KRW 450,000. The stock prices of Celltrion Pharmaceutical and Celltrion Healthcare rose more than 30% this month alone.

“Celltrion is a company that pioneered the global biosimilar market, and it is expected to significantly increase sales and profitability by developing and completing biobetters,” said Kim Hyung-soo, a researcher at Cape Investment & Securities. “It should not be forgotten that it is growing while realizing high profits. “He said.

Chairman Seo’s final goal is the successful launch of the COVID-19 antibody treatment. Celltrion has completed phase 2 of the global clinical trial of CT-P59, a corona19 antibody treatment, and submitted an application for conditional approval to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety the day before. At the same time, it plans to proceed with the procedure for obtaining approval for emergency use in the United States and Europe.

Chairman Seo will withdraw from the front line as planned on the 31st. However, the official title will be maintained until the shareholders’ meeting in March next year when the medication for patients with COVID-19 is administered. Celltrion is expected to be a successor to the shareholders’ meeting.

An official from Celltrion said, “Chairman Seo will withdraw from the front line at the end of this month, but will retain the chairman title until he is removed from the registered directors list in March next year.” I will remain as the honorary chairman.”

Yoon Jin-woo, reporter at Hankyung.com [email protected]