The financial regulator allowed Pharma Research Bio to resume stock trading from Thursday, about one month after the suspension of trading shares.
On Wednesday, the Korea Exchange’s KONEX, an exchange exclusively for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), announced that it would exclude Pharma Research Bio from the list of companies reviewed for listing eligibility.
Freed from the review list, Pharma Research Bio can resume stock trading from Thursday.
As the trading has been suspended for a long time, the stock price at the resumption of trading will be set between the highest asking price of 60,300 won ($50.79) and the lowest asking price of 15,100 won.
The stock price before the trading suspension was 30,150 won.
The KRX’s decision also helped Pharma Research Bio avoid the risk of getting delisted from KONEX.
The decision is seemingly based on the Seoul Administrative Court’s ruling on Friday last week to hold the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s punishment on Pharma Research Bio.
With the court’s decision, the MFDS’ administrative discipline is suspended until the 30th day from the date of a ruling in the lawsuit over whether to cancel the government’s administrative punishment.
On Dec. 2, KONEX said it would suspend the business operation of Pharma Research Bio because it had to review whether the company was eligible for a continued listing on the market.
Earlier on Nov. 10, the MFDS said Pharma Research Bio and Hugel violated the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act by selling botulinum toxin (BTX) products without lot release certificates.
The MFDS said that Pharma Research Bio sold BTX goods in the domestic market without state approval for sales in Korea and that it would ban manufacturing for six months and revoke the permits for ReNTox Inj. 100 and ReNTox Inj. 200.
The Seoul Regional Office of Food and Drug Safety implemented the administrative punishment on Pharma Research Bio on Dec. 2.
Pharma Research Bio, a subsidiary of Pharma Research specializing in biologic agents, announced the business suspension in a public filing, with risks getting flagship products nullified. According to the company, ReNTox sales recorded about 6.3 billion won in 2020.
The resumption of the stock trading will give Pharma Research Bio some room to breathe, but it will still have to fight the MFDS in court.
In a public filing on Friday, the company said the manufacturing and exporting of the two products of ReNTox would remain intact until the 30th day from the date of ruling in the case against the MFDS.
As the company seeks to nullify the MFDS’ administrative punishment in the suit, the company will take appropriate legal actions.