Silicon2 eyes European expansion and Samsung Biologics orders; Voronoi's lung cancer drug trials on track

He said the deal could provide an important foothold for K-beauty products to enter the European market rapidly.

Cho said, "Silicon2 has not yet signed with Douglas, but once the contract is in place, sales and operating profit should be booked quickly. If that happens, conditions will be in place for K-beauty to penetrate the European market rapidly."

The overhang issue at Silicon2 is a concern for many investors, but Cho said the redemption date is next September, leaving plenty of time. About 9.2% of common shares are scheduled to be redeemed then, so dilution is possible, but he expects the share price to move elastically until that point.

Cho said, "Many people worry about the overhang issue whenever a contract is announced, but there is more than a year left. It is far off. In September next year, about 9.2% of common shares will be redeemed, so there will be dilution. It can happen, but as I said, it is still far away, so I think the share price will move elastically."

The key factor is the order outlook: with bidding having run for more than a year, contracts are considered very likely from the third quarter into the second half.

Cho expects this to be more than a single deal, with at least two orders likely, and said this points to growth in Samsung Biologics' earnings. The outlook suggests that orders prepared over a long period are approaching the point of paying off alongside expanded production capacity.

Voronoi's lung cancer treatment 'VRN11' has shown positive results in trials. In particular, it showed effects in patients whose treatment with the non-small cell lung cancer drug Tagrisso failed due to the C797S mutation, which occurs in 10 to 30% of patients on Tagrisso. Lung cancer is known to spread quickly to the brain, but VRN11 is assessed as effective for brain metastasis patients because of its high brain penetration.

Safety at higher doses was also confirmed, with toxicity and side effects kept to a minimum, further raising its therapeutic potential. This suggests it could offer a new treatment option for Tagrisso-resistant patients and brain metastasis patients.

Voronoi has received IND approval for Phase 1b and Phase 2 trials in North America, including Canada, and has also obtained approval for multinational trials in Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Notably, the trials include not only treatment-naive patients but also patients who failed prior treatment, covering a broad range of patient groups.

This expansion of multinational trials and diversification of patient groups is seen as a strategy to gain leverage in licensing-out negotiations with large pharmaceutical companies after successful trials. Cho assessed that this strategy will raise Voronoi's chances of a successful technology export.