Minority shareholders of biopharmaceutical companies, who had remained content with expressing simple discontent when problems arose, are beginning to change, according to industry executives.

They form shareholder solidarity groups to call for managers to work out measures to bolster share prices and even infringe on managerial controls.

For instance, minority shareholders of Celltrion recently formed an emergency planning committee and started collecting shares to replace the company’s management, including honorary Chairman Seo Jung-jin and CEO Kee Woo-sung.

These minority shareholders say the company failed to come up with steps to bolster stock prices, which had plunged this year. As a result, Celltrion's share price hit an all-time high of 384,000 won ($326) on Jan. 12 but has since fallen to hit 219,000 won on Friday, down 42.96 percent from the high in January.

The problem is that the future of Celltrion is also uncertain.

Its Covid-19 treatment project based on Regkirona is quickly losing ground with the recent launch of Molnupiravir, a Covid-19 treatment developed by MSD. Molnupiravir is an oral treatment, and industry experts expect that Celltrion's Regkirona has little competitiveness in cost and convenience.

Moreover, Celltrion has yet to receive approval for the treatment in the EU and U.S., adding to the company's woes.

Due to such uncertainties, analysts have recently pulled down the target price of Celltrion's shares.

In response, Celltrion’s minority shareholders demanded that the company enhance shareholder value through stock buyback and other measures. They threatened to sell all their shares if the company failed to show any visible efforts to improve shareholder value.

However, the Celltrion management showed a different position, saying they would raise the stock price through continued R&D of new drugs rather than boosting the stock price in the short term through buying back shares.

The situation is coming to a head as both sides do not back down, with the minority shareholders campaigning to purchase 50 million shares to secure 37 percent of total shares.

Celltrion is not the only pharmaceutical company struggling with minority shareholders.

Seegene, one of the leaders in the diagnostic kit industry, also had friction with minority shareholders earlier this year.

The company's shares surged to an all-time high of 312,200 won in August last year. However, share prices plunged to 124,500 won in February after the development and commercialization of Covid-19 vaccines.

Faced with plunging share prices, minority shareholders pressured the management to develop a “shareholder-friendly policy.”

In response, the company bought back 30 billion won worth of own stocks, paying quarterly dividends and carrying out bonus issues in April.

Another company wresting with minority shareholders is Helixmith.

In July, the company managed to defend its managerial rights from minority stockholders by winning a vote at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.

Minority shareholders initially sought to kick out incumbent CEO Kim Sun-young, but stopped amending corporate articles and sending two new members to the board of directors. CEO Kim and the company's top management retained control over the company.

Market watchers said that since biopharmaceutical stocks showed relatively big drops than other issues, their managers need to restore the trust of minority shareholders so that they can invest with long-term prospects.

"Their lax management has led to a situation in which minority shareholders collectively express dissatisfaction and demand stock price boost," said Lee Jun-soo, an analyst for Prophet Asset Management. "Given the discontents of investors result from failures to give trust, investors have no choice but to jointly point out the management's faults and demand a boost in the stock price whenever problems arise."

As the decline in biopharmaceutical stocks continues, Lee predicted that the disgruntled voices of minority shareholders would continue.

“Restoring the trust of small shareholders is more urgent than ever,” Lee said.