Curocell, an immunotherapy developer, is drawing investors’ attention as the company commercializes a domestic CAR-T (chimeric antibody receptor-T cell) therapy and makes a debut on the stock market in the latter half-year.

According to the Korea Stock Exchange (KRX), Curocell requested a preliminary review of its Kosdaq listing last Tuesday. The number of shares scheduled to be listed totals 13,564,736, of which 1.6 million will be for initial public offering. The company’s largest shareholder is CEO Kim Keon-su, with 13 percent equity. The lead managers are Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities.

Curocell underwent an evaluation process for special technology listing and received A and BBB grades from Korea Rating and Data and Korea Technology Finance Corp., meeting its requirement. It failed a similar process last year but is re-challenging this year.

The KRX’s noticing deadline for its preliminary review is 45 trading days. If the company passes it, it will likely be able to launch an IPO process for the Kosdaq listing in the second half of this year. The company has said it aims to complete the process within this year.

In January last year, Curocell attracted 36 billion won ($27.1 million) in pre-IPO investment.

Notably, SK Plasma, a unit of the SK Group that manufactures blood products, became a strategic investor in Curocell to jointly engage in the domestic and overseas business regarding CAR-T therapies to be developed by Curocell.

Besides, Curocell is scheduled to unveil interim results of phase 2 clinical trial of CRC 01, a candidate substance for CD19 CAR-T therapy, in June. CRCD01’s international nonproprietary name (INN) is Anbalcaptagene autoleucel, or Anbal-cel as Curocell calls it.

According to Curocell, a summary of the interim results of Anbal-cel has been selected as the subject of an oral presentation at the 17th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) in Lugano, Switzerland, from June 13. Professor Kim Won-seok of the Oncology Department at Samsung Medical Center (SMC) will present it.

The phase 2 clinical trial of Anbal-cel is conducted at six large hospitals in Korea, including SMC, Asan Medical Center (AMC), and Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH).

Curocell plans to complete the phase 2 trial this year and apply for approval as a new drug to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety next year. If it wins a nod, it will be the first CAR-T therapy developed by a Korean company. The company completed the construction of its new office and GMP manufacturing facilities to produce its CAR-T therapies within International Science Business Belt in Daejeon in April last year.

“We are pleased to be chosen as an oral presenter at an internationally recognized academic conference,” CEO Kim said. “Now that Anbal-cel’s clinical trial results have won recognition from global experts, we will finish trials quickly and prepare to submit an application next year.”