Samsung BioLogics, a contract manufacturer of biologic drugs under the Samsung Group, made a strong stock market debut Thursday, as its shares were buoyed by rosy expectations for the pharmaceutical industry after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

Shares of Samsung BioLogics opened at 135,000 won ($117.50) apiece on Korea’s main stock market Kospi, slightly lower than their initial public offering price of 136,000 won.

After trading began, the shares continued to rally throughout the day to close at a final price of 144,000 won on Thursday, up 6.67 percent from their initial opening price.

A sign welcomes visitors to the Samsung BioLogics headquarters in Songdo, Incheon. (Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald)

Shares of Samsung BioLogics, which makes biologic drugs on behalf of global pharmaceutical giants such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche, appeared to have benefited from Trump’s win which lifted the threat of lower drug pricing policies in the US.

“There had been concerns in the global biopharma industry over the continuation of Obamacare and the lowering of drug prices. Trump’s victory has alleviated much of these concerns.” a Samsung BioLogics spokesperson told The Korea Herald.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has long been a vocal critic of high drug prices. Given her stance, Clinton’s potential to win the election had been weighing down on the US pharma sector over the past year. 

Trump’s confirmed victory on Wednesday eradicated much of this uncertainty and raised investor trust, boosting the share prices of major pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Sanofi and Eli Lilly -- potential clients of Samsung BioLogics.

“Though we are not as directly impacted by US healthcare policies (as we are a contract drug manufacturer and not a drug developer), we nonetheless seem to have reaped benefits from the improved industry outlook,” the spokesperson said.

For similar reasons, shares of other major Korean biopharma exporters also soared on Thursday -- Hanmi Pharmaceutical by 12.15 percent and Celltrion by 4.61 percent. 

Looking ahead, Samsung BioLogics plans to use the 1.5 trillion won it has freshly secured through the IPO to fund the construction of its third production plant and inject more capital into its subsidiary Samsung Bioepis, a developer of cheaper, near-replicas of biologic drugs called biosimilars.

The two are at the heart of Samsung Group’s push into biopharmaceuticals, perceived as a new, promising industry that could become a new source of revenue for the tech giant.

Samsung BioLogics currently operates two production plants in Songdo, Incheon which produce commercial biologics ordered by clients including but not limited to BMS, Roche and Samsung Bioepis.

The completion of the company’s third plant in 2018 is set to drive up the firm’s net production capacity to 360,000 liters, the biggest in the business globally. The first two plants currently boast a combined capacity of 180,000 liters.

As of now, the first plant is commercially operational while the second plant is undergoing test operations. Orders for both plants have been fully booked, but the full client list cannot be disclosed due to contract stipulations, Samsung BioLogics said.

Ahead of Samsung BioLogics’ IPO, some analysts had raised concerns about overvaluation, saying that the company’s current value is mainly fueled by rosy expectations for the firm’s future profitability and not the potential risks and uncertainties.

Moreover, Samsung BioLogics, founded in 2011, is currently in the red. It posted a revenue of 91.2 billion won and an operating loss of 203.6 billion won in 2015.

However, the contract drug manufacturer has pointed out that it will swing into the black once its second and third plants begin commercial operations.

The company’s stated goal is to raise 1 trillion won in revenue and 400 billion won in operating profit by 2020, with plans to double its performance by 2025 by expanding its facilities and scoring new orders.