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Development of anti-Covid-19 drugs.
Celltrion is a pharmaceutical biotech company, but when the Covid-19 pandemic erupted, the demand for medical supplies increased, the company shifted its focus to medical supply manufacturing and development. Covid-19 drugs.
Market expectations for the new Covid-19 test kit and the drug developed by the Korean company Celltrion helped founder Seo Jung-jin’s fortune skyrocket.
Since Forbes released the World’s Richest People list on March 18, the fortune of businessman Seo Jung-jin, 62, has risen by $ 2.2 billion to $ 8.3 billion when Celltrion’s stock price it shot up to 37.6%.
Celltrion investors hope the company will successfully develop the Covid-19 drugs, as in the first months of the year this pandemic has infected more than 2 million people and has pushed the world into the game. The worst recession since the 1930s.
Mr. Kwon Ki-sung – Celltrion Research and Development – said. “With the rapid development of antivirus antibodies, we will conduct human clinical trials in July.”
“We are also in the process of developing a super antibody, also known as an antibody cocktail, and we are expected to launch a rapid and automatic test kit this summer,” said Kwon. The Celltrion Test Kit can produce results in just 15-20 minutes.
South Korea is one of the countries most affected by the Covid-10 epidemic in Asia with more than 10,500 cases and 225 deaths as of April 15.
However, the country has successfully controlled the spread of the epidemic without shutting down the economy, mainly thanks to widespread virus testing.
Working with the Korean Ministry of Health and the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Celltrion stated that it selected 14 strong neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from the initial list of 300. type of antibody After Celltrion successfully develop a possible antibody candidate, deploy mass production and test.
Celltrion’s revenue in 2019 reached $ 968 million, 14.9% more than in the same period last year.
From workers to billionaires around the world
Billionaire Seo used to work at the Samsung Group’s electronic components factory in the 1980s. Later, he became a CEO of the Korean auto factory Daewoo. Motor, but left the company in 1999 during the Asian financial crisis.
“My mother-in-law called me and asked what I would do to earn money now. At that time, I felt tired and depressed with her complaints. Therefore, I decided to build my own company. “- Mr. Seo remembers old memories and said.
With several former Daewoo colleagues, Mr. Seo founded Celltrion in 2020 and is now Korea’s second richest man.
Celltrion is headquartered in the city of Incheon, on the 2008 stock exchange. After 10 years, the company’s market has grown to the current level of 27.7 trillion won (about $ 22.8 billion).
Celltrion is not the only biotech company in Korea involved in the race to develop the drug Covid-19.
Rival Samsung Group’s Samsung BioLogics announced on April 10 that it is partnering with US Vir Technology through a $ 362 million deal to produce potentially anti-virus drugs. Covid-19.
Vir said a second phase of clinical testing will begin within the next 3-5 months and Samsung Biologics is expected to start commercial production at the chain next year.
With this promising cooperation, Samsung Biologics shares as of April 15 have increased by 35.3%. As a result, Samsung Group President Lee Kun-hee’s fortune skyrocketed an additional $ 1.7 billion to a total of $ 15.8, making him the richest person in Korea.
Huong Vu
According to Forbes
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