PSMC will change its name to HLB innoVation at a shareholder meeting next month to emerge as the HLB Group’s key unit in developing CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor-T cell) treatments.
In a public disclosure on Friday, PSMC said it would change its corporate title to HLB innovation by holding an extra shareholders’ meeting scheduled for March 13. PSMC is the manufacturer of lead frames, a key semiconductor part. The HLB Group expressed its intention to acquire PSMC’s equity worth 30 billion won ($22.8 million) on Feb. 1.
All major subsidiaries of the group – HLB, HLB Life Science, HLB Pharm, HLB Therapeutics, and HLB Investment – will participate in the equity acquisition. When the group completes all procedures, it will become the largest shareholder of PSMC with a 28.25 percent stake.
The group earlier said that one of its primary purposes for acquiring PSMC is to develop CAR-T treatments, one of its main pipelines.
As if to back it up, the group plans to appoint some managers of Verismo Therapeutics, the group’s U.S. affiliate engaged in developing CAR-T treatments, as PSMC’s board director at the shareholder meeting.
According to the public filing, PSMC will usher in Verismo’s chief operating officer, Lee Byung-geol, and research analyst, Jin In-hye, as its directors. Jin is the second daughter of HLB Group Chairman Jin Yang-gon and will be at the forefront of the management. It is the first time a family member of Chairman Jin will be appointed an executive of an affiliated company.
At the shareholder meeting, PSMC will add biopharmaceutical lines to its business purposes, such as research and development, technology transfer, and profit from tech fees from biopharmaceutical products and genetic treatments.
Verismo is a bio company set by the University of Pennsylvania research team that took the lead in developing Novartis’ Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), the first CAR-T treatment worldwide. Dr. Carl June, a global authority on CAR-T drugs, will join the research as a clinical and technical advisor, raising expectations on developing CAR-T treatments for solid cancer.
Besides, the industry watchers note that the HLB Group, while acquiring the equity of PSMC, has stipulated that Bryan Kim, founder of Verismo, would exercise the call option on HLB innoVation’s convertible bonds within the limit of not exceeding 30 percent of the total value of the issuance day until Feb. 15.
The appointment of Verismo managers as PSMC’s executives and granting call options to Verismo’s founder on PSMC’s CBs indicate Verismo also has an obligation to bolster PSMC’s share prices, emphasizing strong bondage between the two companies. Some market watchers also speculated that Verismo might attempt a back-door listing on the local bourse through PSMC.
Early this month, the HLB Group announced it would support the new drug development by PSMC that has secured stable business portfolios. Market insiders are paying keen attention to whether PSMC will be able to meet such expectations by playing the group’s frontline guard post in developing new drugs.