Epoche expands holdings in HLB Innovation and HLB Therapeutics
Key clinical trial results for RGN-259 and SynKIR-310 expected within the year
HLB Group Chairman Jin Yang-gon has further consolidated his control over group affiliates, expanding his equity stakes through a personal holding company following a series of direct, personal acquisitions, the company said on Tuesday.
HLB Group announced that Epoche, an investment firm in which Chairman Jin holds a 99% stake, has recently acquired additional shares of HLB Innovation and HLB Therapeutics through open-market transactions.
Between October 23 and November 1, Epoche purchased 218,718 shares of HLB Innovation across four separate transactions. As a result, its holdings in the company increased from 75,694 shares to 294,412 shares.
The private firm also bolstered its stake in HLB Therapeutics. Over three sessions—October 23, October 30, and November 1—it acquired 130,584 shares in the open market, raising its total holdings from 41,688 shares to 172,272 shares.
Both companies are gearing up to unveil pivotal clinical trial results for their flagship drug pipelines before the end of the year.
HLB Therapeutics is currently conducting a global Phase 3 clinical trial (SEER-2) for ‘RGN-259,’ a candidate treatment for neurotrophic keratitis (NK), with top-line results scheduled to be released in November.
Meanwhile, Verismo Therapeutics, a US subsidiary of HLB Innovation, is developing CAR-T therapies including ‘SynKIR-110’ for solid tumors and ‘SynKIR-310’ for hematological malignancies. A Phase 1 clinical trial for SynKIR-310 is underway in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma, with interim results set to be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in December.
Throughout the year, Chairman Jin has also steadily purchased shares of various group affiliates—including HLB Innovation, HLB Panagene, HLB Therapeutics, HLB Genex, HLB Biostep, and HLB Pep—under his own name. According to the company, he has executed approximately 62 open-market purchases totaling roughly 1.22 million shares this year.
An HLB Group official stated, "Chairman Jin has consistently acquired shares of group affiliates under his personal name this year, and has now further secured stakes in key affiliates through his private holding company. This underscores his strong confidence not only in the ongoing new drug development projects but also in our subsequent pipelines and the mid-to-long-term growth potential of each affiliate."
