The local pharmaceutical and biotech industries are on high alert as Covid-19 cases resurged in the Seoul metropolitan area. Canceled IR events in the biotech sector, due to the fear of Covid-19 infections, could discourage the investment sentiment, observers said.

SCM Lifescience, Ensol Biosciences, Bridge Biotherapeutics, Hanall Biopharma, and Genome & Company said Tuesday they would cancel their IR briefings initially planned for Wednesday and Thursday.

The companies had planned to participate in the 2020 Korea Bio Investment Conference at the Seoul Dragon City hotel to share pipeline development and clinical trial progresses through presentations and Q&A sessions.

However, worries over a second viral wave made the government lift the level of social distancing in Seoul and the neighboring areas by one notch to Level 2 in the three-tier system for two weeks from Sunday. Consequently, the biotech companies had to delay their IR events indefinitely.

Given investors’ heightened interest in biotech firms recently, the biotech businesses that have tried to gain growth momentum expressed regret over the lost chance of attracting investment.

SCM Lifescience, which went public on the Kosdaq market in June, and Ensol BioSciences, which acquired its subsidiary Bison Science, lost the opportunity to provide their information for investors.

The repercussion of the Covid-19 spreading again is likely to affect not only the biotech sector but the entire pharmaceutical industry, officials said.

Medipost said it would conduct an individual briefing for retail shareholders on request from Tuesday. Up to four shareholders can participate in an individual briefing.

“Offline events, which were just starting to begin, will be canceled again,” an official at a drugmaker said.

In March and April, when Covid-19 was spreading quickly, pharmaceutical companies ordered employees to work from home and refrain from having a dinner gathering.

Drug companies worry that salespersons who have to meet doctors in person could face difficulty promoting drugs due to the upturn of confirmed cases.

As of Tuesday, no drug company officially ordered workers to work from home.

However, a prolonged spread of Covid-19 in the Seoul metropolitan area could raise the level of social distancing by one more notch to Level 3. In that case, pharmaceutical firms may seek long-term working from home system.

kch@docdocdoc.co.kr

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