CDIB Capital Healthcare Venture Fund's General Manager, Wu Hsin-Fang, noted that as investors become more familiar with biotech stocks, there is a shift in focus from speculative value ("price-to-dream ratio") to earnings-driven metrics ("price-to-earnings ratio"). A trend towards forming corporate groups is also emerging, with more listed companies expected to spin off their healthcare divisions or make strategic investments to drive IPOs.
Wu explained that following new government policies for healthcare, the capital market is likely to see new types of biotech companies emerge. These include regenerative medicine, exosomes, reproductive medicine, precision medicine, digital healthcare, and long-term care, in addition to traditional pharmaceutical and medical device companies, making the biotech sector more diversified and robust.
Preliminary analysis indicates that new technologies and concepts in biotech are giving rise to "new forces." Traditional pharmaceutical companies like Yung Shin Pharm and China Chemical & Pharmaceutical are transforming into holding companies, promoting the public listing of subsidiaries, while Bora Group, led by Bobby Sheng, is also expanding its reach.
In parallel, William Lu's Microbio Group has extended its holdings, with companies like Microbio, Oneness Biotech, SINEW Pharma, CHO Pharma, and Diamond BioFund under its umbrella. Diamond BioFund's subsidiary StemCyte is expected to go public on the emerging stock market later this year or early next year. StemCyte has submitted a drug application to the U.S. FDA for its new allogeneic cord blood therapy, RegeneCyte, with the aim of approval this year.
Oneness Biotech has made strides in innovative drugs and medical devices, with its ON101 drug (a diabetic wound care product) already in the commercialization phase. Following the successful Phase II trials of its COVID-19 drug SNS812 and its new weight-loss drug SNS851, Oneness may consider spinning off these projects to attract additional funding, accelerating licensing and clinical development.
The BIONET Group is also aggressively advancing into exosome and genetic testing fields, with its subsidiary BIONET Therapeutics planning to apply for listing on the emerging stock market in the fourth quarter. Currently, it is conducting a Phase II trial for the mesenchymal stem cell drug BU-01, while its exosome-based dry eye treatment, ExoTear, has received guidance from Taiwan's Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) as a priority review case.
Additionally, to support the high international capital demand of the biotech industry, Taiwan's Stock Exchange is reportedly considering revisions to delisting criteria to facilitate industry growth, aimed at helping the biotech and pharmaceutical sector attract more foreign investment.
Resource (mandarin): 生技集團化 分拆生醫、轉投資
