(LEAD) Celltrion decides not to merge with chemical drug-producing unit

Celltrion Inc., a South Korean biopharmaceutical firm, said Friday it has decided not to merge with its chemical drug-producing affiliate, Celltrion Pharm Inc., as shareholders disagreed on the planned merger. The decision was made in board meetings of the two companies held earlier in the day, Celltrion said. In a survey, 36.2 percent of Celltrion's shareholders opposed the plan, 55.1 percent abstained from voting and only 8.7 percent supported the plan. On the other hand, 67.7 percent of stockholders of Celltrion Pharm approved of the plan, while 9.8 percent disapproved. In recent years, Celltrion Group has been pushing for the integration of its three listed firms -- Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm -- in a bid to become a global drugmaker in biosimilars and new drug development. Celltrion first merged with its sales affiliate, Celltrion Healthcare, in December and had been pushing to integrate with Celltrion Pharm this year. "Celltrion and Celltrion Pharm will now focus on foster ing more growth, and we will reconsider integrating the two companies in the future when their shareholders believe the firms' corporate value has reached an appropriate level," a company official said. Celltrion Pharm plans to announce its business strategy centered on boosting its corporate value through contract manufacturing and developing antibody-drug conjugates, a next-generation cancer treatment, as early as next week. Source:Yonhapi News Agency