[Exclusive] Bumin Hospital Family and Big Move Ventures Acquire Yu Young Pharmaceutical's Cancer Drug Venture [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] The Bumin Hospital Group has taken control of CelLabMed, a biotech venture developing cancer drugs. Big Move Ventures, a venture capital firm led by Jung Hoon-jae, head of the Bumin Hospital Future Medicine Research Institute, and an investment company affiliated with Bumin Hospital have joined forces to acquire the developer of a solid-tumor chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. The move marks the hospital group’s expansion into advanced biopharmaceuticals.
According to the investment banking industry on the 1st, the 'Big Move Biotech Buyout Investment Fund' formed by Big Move Ventures will secure a 60% stake by purchasing new shares in CelLabMed, while Mediwell Holdings will buy existing shares. Mediwell Holdings is a company linked to Jung's side. Through the deal, the Bumin Hospital family will gain control of CelLabMed. The acquirer has also imposed a five-year non-compete obligation on key personnel, including CEO Song Seong-won, to prevent the outflow of core technology and research and development capabilities. Existing shareholders have agreed to grant the acquirer the right to nominate a majority of board members, effectively putting Bumin Hospital in charge of overall management.
Since its establishment in 2021, Big Move Ventures has focused on the bio and healthcare sectors. It has invested in Inocras, a genomic diagnostics company; Promedius, a medical imaging artificial intelligence company; and Chamyaksa, a pharmacy digital transformation company. This acquisition is seen as a strategic move that goes beyond a simple financial investment, aiming to combine the hospital's clinical infrastructure with biotech venture technology.
CelLabMed is developing CLM-103, a solid-tumor CAR T-cell therapy targeting malignant brain tumors such as glioblastoma. The drug targets the IL13Rα2 protein, which is overexpressed in cancer cells, and received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for a phase 1b/2 clinical trial plan in March last year. Unlike commercialized CAR T therapies for blood cancers, it is designed for solid tumors.
CelLabMed was established in 2019 when Yu Young Pharmaceutical spun off its bio R&D division. In just two years after its founding, it raised a cumulative 33.8 billion won, including 10.5 billion won in Series A funding in 2019 and 23.3 billion won in Series B funding in 2021.
CEO Song Seong-won has led the development of new biopharmaceuticals at Yu Young Pharmaceutical after working at Boryung Pharmaceutical and ST Pharm. In addition to CLM-103, he is also developing CLM-101 (YYB-101), an antibody drug that inhibits hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signaling, and is conducting a phase 2 trial for colorectal cancer.
An official in the investment banking industry said, "As the Bumin Hospital Group pushes ahead with its 'Vision 2030' strategy covering prevention and regenerative medicine, it is expanding into advanced biopharmaceuticals." The official added, "It appears to be a strategy to combine the hospital's clinical capabilities with CelLabMed's CAR-T technology."
[email protected] Kang Gu-gui Reporter