L&C Bio Co., Ltd. (290650.KQ) shares jumped nearly 12% Thursday on plans for an Ozempic face fix made from donated human fat.

The KOSDAQ-listed stock reached 64,600 won intraday, up 11.76%, per Yahoo Finance data, extending a five-day gain of roughly 24%. Investors welcomed the news as a fresh growth avenue beyond the firm’s existing skin care line.

An Ozempic Side Effect Becomes a Business Plan

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drugs such as Ozempic drive rapid weight loss. Some users then develop a gaunt, hollowed look known as “Ozempic face,” and L&C Bio wants to treat that gap directly.

The market behind that problem is expanding fast. J.P. Morgan Research projects the U.S. patient base for GLP-1 drugs will climb from 12.9 million in 2026 to 30.3 million by 2030, split between type 2 diabetes and obesity patients. Each new obesity patient on an Ozempic-class drug is a potential candidate for facial volume loss, and therefore a potential customer for L&C Bio.

The company’s planned product, tentatively named MegaAdipoECM, converts donated human fat into an extracellular matrix scaffold. Patients’ own fat cells then repopulate the treated area, restoring volume without synthetic filler.

“We pioneered the use of donated human tissue in K-beauty skin boosters.”

Lee Whan Chul, CEO, L&C Bio (SCMP)

The approach differs from Re2O, L&C Bio’s flagship product, which uses donated skin tissue for wrinkles rather than volume. Meanwhile, the new booster could also serve as an alternative to silicone breast implants, widening its potential market beyond Ozempic users alone.

A Legal Shift Unlocks a Cheap Raw Material

South Korean law previously classified donated fat as medical waste, which blocked commercial use entirely. That changed in 2026, when regulators reclassified the tissue. However, a one-year grace period means L&C Bio does not expect a commercial launch before late 2027.

The delay has not dampened investor enthusiasm. L&C Bio holds patents in South Korea, the United States, and China, the three markets it plans to target first. Therefore, L&C Bio already has legal protection before any product reaches shelves. That protection turns a waste product into a low-cost input for a global aesthetics business built around Ozempic-era demand.

The rally also lands inside a rocky 2026 for Korean equities. Trading volumes cratered during a KOSDAQ crash this year, and a chip stock selloff also rattled the KOSPI in July. Some traders even showed signs of capital fleeing to crypto during past equity swoons.

L&C Bio’s jump suggests a strong biotech story can still cut through that volatility. The stock now carries a market capitalization of 1.578 trillion won, on volume of 366,542 shares, close to its average.

Yahoo Finance data also lists a one-year price target of 99,000 won, well above Thursday’s level. However, the stock’s 52-week range of 29,100 to 125,000 won shows just how volatile shares have already been.

Whether L&C Bio turns patent protection into revenue by 2027 remains the open question for this Ozempic face fix.

Source: BeInCrypto