Its shares closed at 17,990 won (US$12.70) on their first day of trading, up 49.92 percent from the offering price of 12,000 won. The strong debut may have been supported by the firm's plans to develop more drugs and pursue additional global licensing deals.
It develops treatments aimed at restoring damaged small blood vessels by modifying signals in the cells that form their inner walls, using technologies developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Institute for Basic Science (IBS).
One of its key technologies is TIE-body, an antibody platform that activates TIE2, a receptor that helps keep blood vessels stable. Ingenia Therapeutics is also developing LCIDEC, which combines this technology with a system designed to remove proteins that cause disease.
Research and development continued after U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, acquired EyeBio for up to $3 billion. The drug, now called MK-8748, is in Phase 3 trial, the final stage of clinical trials before a drug can seek approval, for wet age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that can cause vision loss in older adults. Another study is planned for diabetic macular edema, a condition that can cause retinal swelling in people with diabetes.
The firm is also developing other drug candidates. IGT-303, a potential treatment for chronic kidney disease, is currently in a Phase 2a clinical trial in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It plans to seek a global licensing deal for the drug next year.
It is also working to begin clinical trials of IGT-532, a potential treatment for cancers that form solid masses in organs or tissues.
"The KOSDAQ listing marks a major turning point for us," CEO Han Sang-yeol said. "We will focus on developing more drug candidates and proving our technology in the global market."
AJP Takeaways
• Ingenia Therapeutics listed on South Korea's KOSDAQ market on Aug. 18, 2026, with its shares closing 49.92 percent above the 12,000 won offering price at 17,990 won.
• The South Korean biotech company develops treatments aimed at restoring damaged small blood vessels, based on technologies from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Institute for Basic Science (IBS).
• Its retinal disease drug IGT-427, licensed to EyeBio in 2022 in a deal worth more than 1 trillion won, is now being developed by Merck & Co. as MK-8748 and is in Phase 3 testing for wet age-related macular degeneration.
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