Huons to acquire PanGen Biotech to boost biopharma R&D, CDMO biz

Huons said Wednesday that it has decided to acquire 2,647,378 shares of biopharmaceutical company PanGen Biotech for 14.3 billion won ($10.3 million).

The company said that the equity acquisition will allow Huons to expand its biopharmaceutical R&D and biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) businesses.

Huons will obtain PanGen Biotech's shares through a combination of a merger and a third-party allotted capital increase. Huons’ board of directors resolved to enter into a share transfer agreement with CG Invites, PanGen's existing largest shareholder. Huons will also acquire new shares to be issued by PanGen.

Following the acquisition, Huons will hold 3,983,167 shares of PanGen, making it the largest shareholder with a 31.53 percent stake.

Upon completing the acquisition, Huons plans to take control of PanGen by holding an extraordinary shareholder meeting of PanGen to make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Through the acquisition, Huons will strengthen its biopharmaceutical R&D and CDMO business. PanGen has GMP facilities for producing biopharmaceuticals. It also has PanGen CHO-TECH, the original technology for cell line development and commercializing capabilities.

In June, PanGen signed a contract with Huonslab, a subsidiary of Huons Global, to produce clinical samples of human-derived hyaluronidase and validation for product approval.

Human-derived hyaluronidase conveniently converts intravenous (IV) formulations of anticancer and antibody drugs into subcutaneous (SC) formulations. The patent held by Halozyme Therapeutics in the U.S. expired in March and is scheduled to expire in 2027. In response, Huonslab is developing a human-derived hyaluronidase based on the drug substance (DS) produced by PanGen after winning approval for its investigative new drug (IND) clinical trial by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in August.

The company said that with this acquisition, Huons has secured a stable production base for developing and commercializing biopharmaceuticals, including human-derived hyaluronidase.

“We will increase sales by including PanGen as a subsidiary and entering the new biopharmaceutical CDMO business,” a Huons official said. “We will lead the healthcare market by maximizing synergies between our affiliates.”