Pinotbio, a medical and pharmaceutical developer that attracted investment in partnership with Celltrion and Lotte Biologics, has set about to prepare for its listing on the Kosdaq market.

Amid the increasing interest in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology, industry insiders pay attention to whether Pinotbio could ride high on it.

According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), Pinotbio requested a preliminary review of listing on the tech-heavy secondary stock market last Thursday. The number of shares to be listed totals 6,395,666, and 776,000 are for initial public listing. Pinot Bio’s largest shareholder is CEO Jeong Du-young, with a 14 percent stake. NH Securities and KB Securities will be co-lead managers.

Pinotbio aims for a special technology listing and met the requirement by receiving A and BBB grades from SCI Information Service and eCredible in January. However, it failed to pass the technology assessment in 2021 but has since moved one step closer to the Kosdaq listing.

Pinotbio is a developer of ADC platforms and targeted anticancer agents established in 2017. In addition, the company owns PINOT-ADC, an ADC linker-payload platform it developed independently. It drew the industry’s attention by signing a contract to introduce technology-implementing options with Celltrion last October.

This past April, the company attracted the industry’s attention again, as Lotte Biologics and Ahngook Pharmaceutical participated in its Pre-IPO investment as strategic investors.

Pinotbio reorganized its research and development section to focus on ADC platforms. In the organizational reshuffle, Managing Director and co-founder Cho Hyeon-yong moved to the general director of R&D headquarters. In addition, Vice President Lee Jin-soo, CTO and another co-founder, took the post of vice president in overall charge of management to strengthen organizational management, budgeting, and personnel management.

Pinotbio aims to complete its IPO this year. Industry executives are watching with interest whether the company, which has drawn more than 60 billion won (45.3 million) since its foundation, will pass the process and be listed on the stock market.