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Cerecin, a biopharmaceutical company born out of Swiss food giant Nestlé, is pursuing an IPO on Korea’s KOSDAQ market. Rather than opting for exchanges in Europe, the U.S., or Singapore, Cerecin sees strategic value in KOSDAQ’s biotech-friendly environment.

While the KOSDAQ listing review process is rigorous, the post-listing requirements are relatively flexible—an advantage for pre-revenue drug development firms. In contrast, listing on the U.S. NASDAQ may be easier initially but comes with steep maintenance costs and high liquidity demands that are challenging for small-cap biotech firms.

For many biotechs without revenue, IPOs are less about expansion and more about survival, offering the time and capital needed before achieving major milestones such as licensing or regulatory approval. KOSDAQ’s tech-special listing program has proven successful for local biotech firms like Alteogen, LigaChem Biosciences and ABL Bio, which saw multitrillion-won valuations after tech exports.

Cerecin’s KOSDAQ bid is notable as it expands this opportunity to a global player. Its lead candidate, Tricaprilin, is a drinkable Alzheimer’s drug targeting APOE4 non-carriers—a genetic profile more common in Asian populations. This underpins Cerecin’s clinical strategy focused on Asia, with ongoing Phase 3 trials in Korea, the U.S., and Australia.

Beyond regional relevance, Cerecin also highlights that local clinical trials may directly benefit Korean patients, and the drug’s low production cost (around KRW 10,000 per dose) supports rapid commercialization post-approval.

Cerecin’s pursuit of a KOSDAQ listing demonstrates the growing significance of Korea’s capital markets to global biotech firms. It also signals a positive cycle: Korean institutional capital backing foreign innovation, which in turn brings advanced treatments back to Korean patients.