Prestige Biopharma, a company specializing in antibody drugs, presented its growth potential and vision as a global biosimilar developer on the occasion of its initial public offering scheduled for next month.

"We are focusing on developing new biosimilars and antibody therapeutics with excellent quality and price competitiveness," CEO Park So-yeon said during a news conference held ahead of the company's IPO. "After listing on the main bourse, the company will speed up efforts to become a global player in antibody drugs through continuous R&D and technical cooperation."

Park added that the company focuses on developing biosimilars to build a stable business platform before moving on to new drugs.

"Developing new drugs is very profitable but accompanies lots of risks if things go awry," Park said. "With this in mind, we have decided to focus on developing low-risk biosimilars for the time being rather than developing high-risk biologics."

As the patent's expiration date for the top 10 blockbuster drugs will come soon, the biosimilar market that can replace these in the next decade will be worth about 100 trillion won ($90.5 billion), Park noted.

"All biosimilar companies that have completed development or are in clinical trials for these treatments will show significant growth soon," she said. "Prestige Biopharma is also awaiting EU approval for a Herceptin biosimilar (HD201) after completing phase 3 clinical trials in 2019, with additional plans to apply for approval in the U.S."

As the regulatory procedure for HD201 is proceeding smoothly, the company plans to establish a worldwide distribution network for the biosimilar this year, she added.

Park mentioned that the company is conducting phase 3 clinical trials for HD204, a biosimilar of Avastin, and aims to launch the drug in 2022 when Avastin's European patent expires.

She stressed that even though the company is a latecomer to the biosimilar market, it is confident that it will face no disadvantages as the market continues to expand.

"In the biosimilar market, it is more important to create synergies between sales, marketing, and price competitiveness of developers rather than the release date," Park said. "The company has already secured such synergies through possessing technology and facilities throughout the entire process from antibody-drug development to production, clinical management capabilities leading to rapid commercialization, and biosimilar cost competitiveness."

Besides biosimilars, Park explained that the company has also started developing antibody treatments for rare cancer by using its experience through developing biosimilars.

"The company is developing pancreatic cancer antibody drug PBP1510 and is planning to start phase 1 and 2a clinical trials in Korea and EU," Park said. "The treatment has already shown high promise as it obtained orphan drug designation from regulatory agencies in Korea, U.S., and EU."

The company plans to invest funds acquired through the IPO in the development and clinical trials of major pipelines, such as biosimilars and new pancreatic cancer antibody drugs, she added.

Prestige Biopharma, established in Singapore in 2015, plans to offer 15,341,640 depository receipts at the offering price of 25,000 won to 32,000 won ($26.6-$29) per share to raise 383.5 billion won. It will finalize the offering price after estimating institutional investors' demands on Tuesday and Wednesday, receive general subscriptions next Monday and Tuesday, and go public early next month.