DRTech·TissueGene·Finemedix, All Rally [K-bio Pulse]

[Seungkwon Kim, Edaily Reporter] On the 13th, three names in Korea's pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare sector — DRTech, KolonTissueGene and FinemediX — all posted gains. DR Tech and FinemediX rose on the back of improved earnings, while Kolon TissueGene, whose market capitalization had been cut by more than half following last month's Phase 3 trial shock, drew attention by clawing back part of that decline over eight consecutive trading sessions.

Kolon TissueGene Stock Price Trend

◇ Kolon TissueGene Extends Rebound to Eighth Straight Session



According to KG Zeroin MarketPoint, Kolon TissueGene surged 19.9% from the previous session to close at 25,600 won on the day, marking its biggest single-day gain since the company disclosed its trial failure. The stock is notable for the speed of its recovery: after the topline results from the first U.S. Phase 3 trial of TG-C (formerly Invossa), a cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis, were released on the 20th of last month, the stock plunged more than 75% to the 15,000-won range within four days — including three consecutive days of hitting the daily lower limit.

Tracing the stock's path: TissueGene fell to the 15,000-won range on the 24th of last month, then slid further to around 11,000 won before staging a turnaround. The rebound began on the 31st, when shares rose 11.4% to 13,000 won, followed by gains to 14,290 won on the 3rd of this month, 15,920 won on the 4th, 17,260 won (+8.42%) on the 5th, 17,660 won on the 7th, an intraday high of 20,500 won on the 10th, and 21,350 won (+8.82%) on the 12th — eight consecutive sessions of gains. That amounts to a rebound of more than 130% from last month's low in the 11,000-won range.

By market capitalization, the company's value fell to a low of roughly 3 trillion won last August before swelling to about 11.76 trillion won in May on trial-related expectations. It has since corrected, and industry watchers say the stock's next major move will hinge on the October trial results.

Market observers attribute the current rebound less to any concrete improvement in earnings or trial outcomes and more to a combination of bargain-hunting after the sharp sell-off, short covering, and anticipation ahead of the second Phase 3 trial (TGC-12301) results due in October.

Kolon TissueGene has been developing TG-C — billed as the world's first cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis — since 1999. Its predecessor, Invossa, received domestic approval in 2017 but had that approval revoked in 2019 amid a cell-origin controversy, pushing the company to the brink of delisting. It later regained U.S. FDA clearance to resume trials in 2021 and resumed trading in 2022 as it worked toward a comeback. In the first Phase 3 trial (TGC-15302), whose results were announced on the 20th of last month, TG-C failed to achieve statistical significance versus placebo on co-primary endpoints — the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain and the WOMAC index for joint function.

Industry analysts note that TissueGene's valuation could diverge sharply depending on whether future trial data go beyond pain relief to demonstrate structural improvement — such as cartilage regeneration — sufficient to qualify TG-C as a Disease-Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug (DMOAD).

The company maintains that it has adequate funding. A Kolon Group official said, "Depending on the results of the second trial, the required trial duration and costs may change, which will require renewed discussions with our largest shareholder." The second trial's results, due in October, are widely seen as the decisive variable for both TG-C's development path and TissueGene's share price going forward.

DRTech Stock Price Trend

◇ DRTech Hits Upper Limit on First-Half Earnings Turnaround



DR Tech closed up 29.98% from the previous session at 1,045 won, hitting its daily upper price limit. The move is attributed directly to first-half earnings disclosed the same day. The company reported first-half revenue of 68.9 billion won, up 17% year-on-year — the highest first-half revenue in its history. Operating profit swung from a loss of 2.6 billion won in the same period last year to a profit of 1.3 billion won, while net income likewise turned from a 10.3 billion won loss to a 1.2 billion won profit, marking a simultaneous improvement in both profitability metrics.

Founded in 2000 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2016, DR Tech is a digital X-ray detector specialist that derives roughly 80% of its revenue from overseas markets. Growth was led by its AIDIA line of breast cancer diagnostic products: the premium 3D mammography system AIDIA LUXE has seen rising sales following domestic insurance reimbursement approval, while the newly launched AIDIA LUXE TRUMETRIC, a stereotactic biopsy system, is gaining traction both at home and abroad. The company's EXTRON surgical C-arm system also expanded its footprint across the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, driving 52% first-half revenue growth for that product line.

A DR Tech official said, "Having absorbed one-off costs last year from R&D on new products and capital investment, we've laid the groundwork to improve profitability this year," adding, "We expect to further boost both revenue and profitability over the medium to long term."

Separately, DR Tech decided at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on the 6th to consolidate its par value from 100 won to 500 won, a move that lifts the company out of the stricter delisting requirements applied to so-called "penny stocks." Trading will be suspended from August 20 to September 9, with the revised listing set to take effect September 10. Total shares outstanding will fall from roughly 88.47 million to 17.69 million, with no change to paid-in capital, while earnings per share (EPS) will rise fivefold.

Finemedix Stock Price Trend

◇ FinemediX Gains More Than 11% on Combined Domestic



FinemediX also advanced 11.5% from the previous session to close at 5,600 won on the day, with improved first-half earnings disclosed the same day cited as the driver.

FinemediX reported consolidated first-half revenue of 6.263 billion won and operating profit of 39 million won. Revenue rose 43.7% from 4.359 billion won in the same period last year, and the company swung from an operating loss of 1.375 billion won in the prior-year period to a profit. Domestic revenue grew 38.2% year-on-year to 4.445 billion won, while overseas revenue climbed 51% to 1.601 billion won, with both segments contributing evenly to growth.

Founded in 2009, FinemediX is a medical device maker that has led the localization of gastrointestinal endoscopic instruments in Korea, and listed on KOSDAQ in December of last year. Its flagship products — including the ClearCut Knife, along with snares, injectors, biopsy forceps and hemostatic devices — are supplied to major university and general hospitals, while its tissue-sampling device ClearTip is spearheading the company's push into the U.S. market.

The earnings improvement reflects a combination of stronger direct sales to leading domestic hospitals, the ramp-up of its endoscopic equipment business, and entry into new overseas markets. Revenue from top hospitals in the greater Seoul area rose 60% year-on-year, and the company logged initial orders from new markets including the U.S., Brazil, Japan and the Czech Republic, in addition to established markets such as Russia, the U.K. and Malaysia. The company also recently completed European CE MDR certification for seven next-generation devices, positioning it for further expansion into the European market.

Analysts have also turned more constructive on the stock. Citing expanding equipment sales and rising overseas revenue, Korea Investment & Securities projected FinemediX's full-year revenue at 15.4 billion won and operating profit at 1 billion won, implying 60.7% revenue growth and a swing to profitability from the prior year.

FinemediX CEO Jeon Seong-woo said, "Our first-half results reflect a combination of sales growth at home and abroad and management efficiencies, which drove the improvement in our profitability metrics." He added, "In the second half, we will focus on expanding usage at major domestic tertiary hospitals and securing repeat orders in key markets like the U.S. and Japan."