South Korea’s KOSDAQ pharmaceutical sector index fell 10.51% in the month through Oct. 5, the steepest decline among major industries, as investment remained concentrated in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares. The sector’s year-to-date loss reached 36.65%, while machinery and equipment stocks gained 14% and electrical and electronics stocks rose 10.28% last month. Higher interest rates increased pressure on growth-oriented pharmaceutical companies, whose future drug-development cash flows are discounted more heavily as borrowing costs rise. Company-specific setbacks also hurt sentiment: Orum Therapeutics fell 65.9% after Bristol Myers Squibb discontinued Phase 1 development and the related technology-transfer agreement was terminated, while ABL Bio dropped 33.3% following reports of an authorities’ raid linked to allegations of undisclosed-information share trading by executives and employees. Analysts expect investors to focus more selectively on corporate fundamentals as the delayed KOSDAQ promotion and relegation system approaches.