Celltrion expands again with Korea drug product plant

Celltrion has laid out 126 billion won to build a drug product plant at its site in Songdo, according to reports in the Korean press.

The $94.5 million investment aims to construct a facility with an annual production capacity of 8 million vials when operational in 2027, according to various local news sites.

“Once the expansion of the new factory is completed, an intensive production system for each item will be established along with the production line of the existing second factory, and production efficiency improvement by minimizing changeover of production items is expected to begin in earnest,” Celltrion said in a Korean release.

DepositPhotos/Firststar

The facility will be located at the drugmaker’s campus in Songdo, Incheon. Currently Celltrion’s site boasts 190,000 L of bioreactor capacity across two biomanufacturing facilities but a third, and potentially fourth, drug substance plant will raise this to 600,000 L.

Celltrion, which has won approval for numerous biosimilar products marketed by its affiliate company Celltrion Healthcare, has also hinted at expanding its network beyond its native Korea.

Following US President Joe Biden’s Executive Order last year aimed at advancing domestic biotechnology and biomanufacturing innovation, Celltrion hinted at plans to build in the US.

In March, Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jung-jin said the Korean firm is “keeping a close eye on the Biden executive order.” He added: “With so much of our revenue coming from the US market, there is no reason to avoid building a plant in the US.”

Celltrion previously looked beyond Korea in January 2020, when it signed an agreement with Wuhan city and the provincial government of Hubei Province to build a 120,000 L biosimilars plant in China. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, which occurred weeks later, put the plan on hold.