Viromed said Wednesday that it would issue convertible bonds worth 100 billion won ($89.1 million) to finance various research and marketing activities.

With the funds raised from the convertible bonds, the company plans to invest in the production facilities of Genopis, its manufacturing company established in San Diego, U.S., and produce raw materials and finished products required for commercial licenses of VM202-DPN and DFU. Viromed also plans to use a portion of the fund for pre-marketing activities.

VM202 is the world's first gene therapy product for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN), and the company aims to bring it to the U.S. market as a first-in-class treatment.

Genopis has a 500-liter GMP ready production facility, which has a bigger reactor compared to the European contract manufacturing organizations (CMO) that ViroMed has been using. The company plans to use the facility for manufacturing its plasmid DNA products, and invest and expand the current production facilities as needed.

Also, as ViroMed will become the first company in the world to introduce plasmid DNA as a pharmaceutical product, the company plans to use its accumulated know-how to grow Genopis as a DNA professional contract manufacturing company before registering for an initial public offering (IPO).

“Of course, if there is a good proposal in the process, it is also possible to establish a partnership,” the company said. “We also believe pre-marketing activities should be carried out as soon as possible as such preparations will further enhance the value of the VM202.”

As part of its pre-marketing efforts, the company is currently conducting various consultations with experts in diagnosing and treating PDPN in the United States.

“Through such consultations, the company is aware of the requirements and the market situation in detail,” a company official said. “Also, we are conducting preliminary activities to introduce VM202 to the patients and listen to actual consumers' responses and opinions.”

The company plans to build upon such pre-marketing activities with the newly acquired fund, he added.

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