South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. said Thursday it will spend around 100 billion won ($71.5 million) to buy back its shares for the fifth time this year in a bid to increase its shareholder value.

The buyback of a combined 583,431 shares will begin Friday, according to the company.

It will mark the fifth share buyback by Celltrion this year, following such moves in March, April, June and October.

The accumulative value of the company's share buyback this year is expected to reach 430 billion won.

The company noted its corporate value remains underrated despite recent milestones, including record sales of 881.9 billion won in the third quarter and the growth of its flagship products in the global market.

The drugmaker bought back 1.27 trillion won worth of its own shares in 2023 and canceled 700 billion won worth of them earlier this year.

The company is also considering making additional purchases of its shares and canceling some of them until the market stabilizes amid the recent volatility in the domestic financial market.

Shares in Celltrion were trading at 176,800 won at 10:50 a.m., up 3.15 percent from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)