Green Cross Holdings (President Lee Byung Geon) clarified on 14th that it participated in the Series B-2 round in the form of investing share on ‘Juventas Therapeutics,’ the U.S. Bio-venture company with ‘POSCO technology investment’, the investing institution affiliated with POSCO.
Juventas is a Bio-venture company that affiliates with Cleveland Clinics, the world best hospital of cardiovascular disorder treatment located in Cleveland, Ohio, and is developing genetic cure that will cure the cardiovascular disorder using stem-cell leading genes inside body.
This move is interpreted as Green Cross Holding’s will to actively push ahead the new business, by putting the innovative technologies like cell or gene cure. It is highly looking forward to the growth of the cardiovascular disorder genetic cure that is on the clinical test by Juventas.
In fact, JVS-100 from Juventas is known to have the fastest developing phase over the world, as it is already on the 2nd phase of clinical test, among the genetic cure that are being developed for the cardiovascular disorders.
According to the last year report of RNCOS, the market research institution, global genetic cure market shows constant increasing rate by reaching 12 million dollars on 2009, 88 million dollars on 2013 and 316 million dollars on 2015. In addition, it showed to have grown about 64.7% between 2008 and 2007 and is forecasted to expand to the size of 794 million dollars on 2017.
In addition, according to the last year report from Jain PharmaBiotech, the market research institution specialized on the biotechnology, it picked the cardiovascular disorder as one of the most promising area that the genetic cure can be applied.
There is no fundamental way to cure the cardiovascular disorder, so it is one of the most incurable disease that shows huge increase in death rate on male older than 55 and female older than 65. In U.S., it is reported that the medical expenses per year on the coronary arteries, such as disorder angina and myocardial infarction, is over 100 trillion won.
Lee Byung Geon the president of Green Cross Holdings stated that Green Cross is expanding its advancement on business that uses new technology of cell cure and genetic cure, by securing the domestic and foreign manufacturing/selling rights through the multiple investment on foreign bio-companies along with its own product development.
On the other hand, not only Green Cross Holdings and POSCO technology investment, but other existing and new investors have participated on the Series B-2 investment by Juventas, and Juventas is known to successfully attract 6 million dollars of debt financing and 13.5 million dollars (approximately 15 billion won) of investment.
By Lee Kyung-ho
