CEO Yoon Tae-young: “Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 are entirely different companies, each pursuing independent new drug development directions and strategies”

[by Kang, In Hyo] Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 are currently embroiled in controversy surrounding ‘splitting and overlapping listings,’ a situation that has been compared to a measles outbreak. On March 12, Oscotec CEO James Kim held an online investor relations (IR) meeting to engage with shareholders, where he actively defended the legitimacy of 카지노 게임 사이트’s listing. However, despite the efforts, the debate persists, showing no clear signs of resolution.

In response to the ongoing situation, Oscotec’s CEO, Yoon Tae-young, who oversees general research, met with <THE BIO on March 19 to offer support. Since Yoon’s appointment in March 2020, the company has operated under a co-CEO system, with James Kim and Yoon Tae-young jointly leading its management. Oscotec’s founder, Kim, is primarily responsible for the company’s overall administration. Notably, this marks the first time where Yoon has publicly addressed the media regarding the controversy surrounding 카지노 게임 사이트’s splitting and overlapping listings.

“Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 were originally the developers and co-developers of ‘Leclaza (lazertinib),’ the first Korean anticancer drug to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements last year. However, since 2020, the two companies have operated as distinct entities, each focusing on the development of entirely independent drug pipelines,” emphasized Yoon Tae-young, CEO of Osctotec.

“While we previously co-developed Leclaza and had overlapping pipelines, our areas of new drug development have been distinctly separated since Leclaza’s commercialization. Given this clear differentiation, 카지노 게임 사이트’s current pursuit of a KOSDAQ listing should not be regarded as an ‘overlapping listing,’” Yoon stated.

“A ‘split listing’ occurs when a company separates its core business into a new company and lists it on the stock market. Although Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 maintain a ‘parent-subsidiary’ relationship in terms of shareholding structure, this situation does not qualify as a split listing,” Yoon further elaborated. Oscotec was established in Korea in December 1998, while 카지노 게임 사이트 (formerly OCT USA) was established in the United States in November 2000, about two years later. Although Oscotec held the largest shareholder position at the time of 카지노 게임 사이트’s founding, the company was not created through a physical division.

◇카지노 게임 사이트, not a physical division, initially handled overseas product certification for Oscotec

Yoon emphasized that the notion of a split listing, in relation to 카지노 게임 사이트’s KOSDAQ listing, is clearly inconsistent when considering the history of the founding of Oscotect and 카지노 게임 사이트. “After establishing Oscotec, James Kim founded ‘OCT USA,’ the predecessor of 카지노 게임 사이트, in California, USA, with the vision of ‘we should generate revenue ourselves and develop new drugs,’” Yoon further expressed. “At the time, raising funds through venture capital (VC) was not as common, so the strategy was to raise capital for new drug development by distributing cosmetic raw materials and health functional foods.”

카지노 게임 사이트 evolved into its current form as a novel drug development company in 2008. The company hired Dr. John Koh, the former head of the new drug research center at LG Life Sciences (now LG Chem), and established a research center in Boston, USA, to initiate full-scale new drug development. In 2009, 카지노 게임 사이트 merged with Kosmic Cosmetology Corp. in the U.S. to secure a proprietary revenue structure, marking the birth of the company as it is known today. In April 2016, 카지노 게임 사이트 received USD 5.15 million and liquidated its cosmetics distribution business to concentrate on strengthening its new drug development capabilities. Both Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 were recognized for their new drug development expertise in July 2015 when they exported lazertinib to Yuhan Corporation during its preclinical stage.

“When Oscotec was listed on the KOSDAQ in 2007, the Korea Exchange instructed OCT USA, a subsidiary of Oscotec, to either close the company or have the major shareholder provide funds to address capital erosion,” Yoon expressed. “At that time, I understand that James Kim personally used his own funds to inject capital into 카지노 게임 사이트 and resolve the issue of capital erosion.”

Oscotec’s minority shareholders are opposing 카지노 게임 사이트’s current listing, arguing that Kim Seong-yeon, the son of Oscotec CEO James Kim, holds a substantial number of shares in 카지노 게임 사이트. They suggest that this could constitute a case of ‘illegal donation.’

Yoon refuted this claim, stating, “It is neither illegal nor an illegal donation.” He explained, “As I understand it, Kim donated the company shares he acquired by investing in OCT USA, the predecessor of 카지노 게임 사이트, to his children.” Yoon further clarified, “The donation took place before 2019, prior to 카지노 게임 사이트 preparing for its IPO, and Kim is legally paying the gift tax through installment payments.”

◇“Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 collaborated in the development of laziternib”

In 2024, Leclaza, the first Korean anticancer drug to pass the FDA threshold, was a new drug candidate co-developed by Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트. While 카지노 게임 사이트 is recognized as the original developer of Leclaza’s active ingredient, laziternib, Yoon emphasized that Leclaza would not have been commercialized without Oscotec’s support.

“Lazertinib is the first novel drug candidate discovered after Dr. John Koh joined 카지노 게임 사이트, and it is true that Dr. Koh played a leading role in designing and synthesizing the substance,” Yoon stated. “However, new drug development cannot be achieved by that alone, and the major resources invested in the development of lazertinib, including Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) quality control, were provided primarily by Oscotec.”

“Since Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 both acknowledge their respective contributions to the development of lazertinib, the upfront contract fee, milestone (stage-based technology fee), and royalty (current technology fee) for Leclaza are split equally, 50-50,” Yoon further remarked. “It is completely incorrect to claim that the business structure overlaps simply because the two companies share common revenue from a single new drug.”

◇Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 pursue separate paths after the global technology export of ‘Leclaza’

Lazertinib, which was initially technology-exported to Yuhan Corporation in 2015, was later exported again to the multinational pharmaceutical company Janssen in 2018. Yoon explains that these technology exports marked the point at which the two companies began to diverge. “Since the establishment of the 카지노 게임 사이트 Research Center in 2008, except for lazertinib, there were almost no new drug candidates in the early development stage at the company for 10 years,” he stated. “With the global technology export of lazertinib in 2018, 카지노 게임 사이트 started developing a completely independent pipeline.”

“카지노 게임 사이트 also began to discover and develop early-stage new drug candidates starting in 2020 when I joined,” Yoon further commented. “From that point on, the two companies began to pursue their own distinct R&D directions and strategies.”

“In the case of a novel drug development company, its identity and character are ultimately defined by the program it creates based on its development strategy, philosophy, and direction,” Yoon emphasized. “Oscotec is a company that reflects my vision, while 카지노 게임 사이트 is a company that reflects Dr. Koh’s vision, so their identities and directions are clearly different.”

In other words, Yoon explained that while Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 both originated from the same foundation, ‘lazertinib,’ they have since embarked on different paths. He compared the two companies by positioning their novel drug development along two axes: one representing ‘target novelty’ and the other denoting ‘technology type (whether focused on pipeline development or platform technologies).’

카지노 게임 사이트 focuses on new targets (first-in-class) with high innovation and adopts a pipeline strategy centered around individual candidates. This structure allows the company to secure early technology transfer (L/O) opportunities at the proof-of-concept (PoC) stage, despite the high scientific challenges involved.

On the other hand, 카지노 게임 사이트, the U.S. subsidiary of Oscotec, employs a pipeline-based fast follower strategy, focusing on already proven targets (best-in-class). In a highly competitive market, proving a differentiated ‘Target Product Profile (TPP),’ which outlines the characteristics of the drug under development, is regarded as a challenge.

Both companies are developing novel 카지노 게임 사이트s based on pipelines, but their strategies differ significantly depending on whether they are pursuing a ‘first-in-class’ or a ‘best-in-class’ approach.

“Like 카지노 게임 사이트, Oscotec previously employed a fast follower strategy. However, since I joined in 2020, the company has shifted its focus to challenging the development of the first new drug in the group,” Yoon explained.

“The two companies have entirely different development strategies, so there is no overlap in the new drug development areas currently underway, nor is there a structure that would generate synergy,” Yoon further stated. “Over the past 5 to 7 years, Oscotec (since 2020) and 카지노 게임 사이트 (since 2018) have followed completely different paths, and it is hard to accept the argument that these two companies, with such different strategies, should be merged into one due to ‘overlapping listings.’”

카지노 게임 사이트 is currently advancing the clinical development of various candidate substances as part of its next-generation growth engines. Among these, ‘ADEL-Y01 (development code),’ an antibody-based dementia treatment candidate, is being co-developed with ADEL and is currently undergoing global phase 1 clinical trials in the United States. Additionally, ‘OCT-598 (development code),’ an EP2·4 dual inhibitor anticancer drug candidate, ‘introduced technology’ from Kanaph Therapeutic, is set to enter clinical trials in the first half of this year.

카지노 게임 사이트 is also particularly focusing on a first-in-class anticancer drug that targets resistance through ploidy cycle inhibition as part of its own research program. In April, the company plans to present the non-clinical results of this anticancer drug pipeline, which has not been disclosed, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference. Although the substance is still in the exploratory stage, the goal is to identify a candidate substance within the year. At the AACR, the company will specifically reveal non-clinical data on the treatment of resistance in pancreatic cancer.

Since the co-development of ‘lazertinib’ with Oscotec, 카지노 게임 사이트 has been strengthening its independent R&D capabilities over the past several years. The company has expanded its research efforts, beginning with the discovery of a kinase inhibitor through its ‘GENO-K’ platform. It has also ventured into the development of a molecular glue degrader (MGD) using ‘GENO-D.’ One of its key candidates, ‘GNS-3545 (development code),’ is a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that possesses a mechanism of action that targets and inhibits the ‘Rock2’ signaling pathway, which regulates inflammatory responses and fibrosis processes. The candidate is currently under development, with plans to enter phase 1 clinical trials in Q4. Additionally, ‘GNS-3288,’ a molecule with the same mechanism of action as GNS-3545, is in preclinical development for treating cerebral cavernous malformations.

Yoon also emphasized the importance of 카지노 게임 사이트 raising funds through an IPO. “Royalty revenue from the commercialization of Leclaza will only start to flow in after 2 to 3 years,” he stated. “카지노 게임 사이트 needs to secure funds through this IPO to continue R&D independently during that period. It is crucial to secure stable research funds through an IPO so that John Koh, known as ‘father of Leclaza,’ can focus on developing a second lazertinib.”

Yoon concluded by reiterating that the true management ability of a new drug development company is ultimately demonstrated through its R&D capabilities. As for the upcoming 카지노 게임 사이트 regular shareholders’ meeting on March 27, the agenda will include the re-election of James Kim, the company’s largest shareholder, as an inside director. It has been reported that 카지노 게임 사이트’s minority shareholders have joined forces on the shareholder action platform ‘Act,’ collectively holding 14.83% of the shares, which is more than Kim’s stake of 12.46% (as of the end of 2024). This has raised questions about whether the minority shareholders’ agenda will pass during the shareholders’ meeting.

“James Kim brought Dr. Koh into 카지노 게임 사이트 and gave him full authority to focus on novel drug development, which ultimately led to the global commercialization of lazertinib,” Yoon said. “Since I joined, Oscotec has been following a different strategy for developing new drugs. Given Kim’s ‘leadership that ensures independence,’ I ask that both Oscotec and 카지노 게임 사이트 be allowed to dedicate themselves to R&D based on their unique directions and expertise,” he further appealed.

At the same time, Oscotec is facing strong opposition from minority shareholders as its subsidiary 카지노 게임 사이트 prepares for listing. In this context, the Korea Exchange is still conducting a hearing regarding 카지노 게임 사이트’s preliminary listing review. Although 카지노 게임 사이트 submitted its request for a preliminary listing review to the Korea Exchange in October of last year, five months have passed, and the entity has not yet reached a decision.