Coreline Soft Surges...Syntekabio·Curexo on the Rise[K-Bio Pulse]
by김승권 기자
2025.03.18 12:40:24
[Seungkwon Kim, Edaily Reporter] On March 14, stock prices in the domestic pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare sectors soared for companies that announced new collaborations or launched new services. Coreline Soft recently linked to a partnership with VUNO wese among the key gainers.
Curexo, in particular, saw its stock rise on expectations of increased medical robot sales in the U.S.
According to KG Zeroin’s MP Doctor (formerly Market Point), Coreline Soft closed at KRW 9,330, marking an approximately 12% increase from the previous day. This is the third consecutive trading session in which the stock has risen. Compared to its early-year price of KRW 5,750, the stock has climbed nearly 40%.
Coreline Soft specializes in artificial intelligence (AI)-based three-dimensional CT image analysis solutions. It has gained traction in the European market, particularly with its AVIEW LCS Plus, which enables simultaneous screening for lung cancer, emphysema, and coronary artery calcification.
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Coreline Soft recently decided on a KRW 3.4 billion third-party allocation capital increase, with AI medical firm VUNO being the sole participant. VUNO will acquire 429,293 shares of Coreline Soft’s convertible preferred stock (CPS). The deal was struck under the condition that Coreline Soft takes over VUNO’s AI-based chest diagnosis platform, ‘VUNO Med-LungCT.’
Of the KRW 3.4 billion raised, KRW 3 billion will be used for the asset acquisition of VUNO’s product, while the remaining KRW 400 million will go toward research and development (R&D) and labor costs. The acquisition is expected to create synergies in sales and marketing by adding VUNO Med-LungCT to Coreline Soft’s existing portfolio of pulmonary disease diagnostic products.
This agreement also marks Coreline Soft’s entry into the Japanese market, expanding beyond its current focus on Europe and the U.S. In 2020, VUNO signed a licensing agreement with M3, a Japanese medical information platform company, for its chest CT AI technology. VUNO has since collaborated with M3 AI, a specialized medical AI firm established by M3 in 2022, to penetrate the Japanese market. M3 AI has secured more than 40 hospitals in Japan and generates stable subscription-based revenue.
Kim Jin-kook, CEO of Coreline Soft, stated, “VUNO recognized our outstanding AI technology and global expansion potential, which led to this investment. This agreement will serve as a foothold for our full-scale entry into the Japanese market.”
Syntekabio also saw a significant stock price increase, closing at KRW 7,050, a 16% rise from the previous day. This marks a nearly 30% jump from its year-end low of KRW 5,010.
The surge came as the company officially launched its AI-driven drug discovery virtual screening service, ‘LM-VS,’ targeting the global market. Traditional computer-aided drug design (CADD) methods rely on docking compounds into three-dimensional target structures. However, De Novo design and generative AI (Gen-AI) models face challenges such as high costs, lengthy development times, and difficulties in synthesis and procurement. Additionally, convolutional neural network (CNN)-based AI models have limitations depending on the size of the chemical library.
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A company spokesperson stated, “Through LM-VS, AI-based virtual screening can be combined with our DeepMatcher platform to enhance precision in drug discovery. This marks a transformative step in AI-driven drug development.”
Curexo also saw a sharp rise, closing at KRW 9,420, up approximately 15% from the previous day. The stock surged on expectations of increased medical robot sales.
Curexo executives have expressed confidence in achieving record-breaking sales this year. CEO Lee Jae-jun recently told Edaily, “At this rate, we expect to sell around 120 medical robots this year, reaching our 2024 revenue goal of KRW 50 billion.”
The company’s participation in AAOS 2025, the world’s largest orthopedic conference, further fueled investor optimism. At the event in San Diego, Curexo will showcase its latest hip replacement surgery robot, CUVIS-Joint THA, alongside its existing knee and spinal surgery robots, CUVIS-Joint and CUVIS-Spine.
Curexo is expanding its market beyond India into Russia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, with future plans to enter North America and Japan.
A company representative stated, “Through our participation in AAOS 2025, we aim to showcase Curexo’s medical robotics technology to the global market while expanding our regulatory approvals and export destinations.”