Thermo Fisher opens Korean bioprocess center

The Bioprocess Design Center (BDC) in Incheon, Korea will offer support to the region’s continually growing biomanufacturing industry, says Thermo Fisher.

The Songdo, Incheon BDC opened its doors earlier this month with the aim “to help enhance the competitiveness of the Korean bio industry,” Scott Song, director of BioProduction and Laboratory Chemical at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said during a promotional video announcing the opening of the site.

“The BDC will play a pivotal role in realizing Thermo Fisher Scientific’s vision in the biopharmaceutical market by taking the lead in bioprocess design and expert development.”

Biomanufacturers in the Incheon district include Samsung Biologics and Celltrion, which between them help make up what Thermo Fisher says is the world’s largest biopharma production capacity in a single city. With ongoing investments, Samsung Biologics will soon have over 600,00 L of bioreactor capacity at its site, while Celltrion currently operates 190,000 L of capacity with plans to increase this three-fold over the next decade.

Thermo Fisher’s site itself consists of 760 m² of lab and training space designed to implement processes from culturing to refining.

One of the features it boasts is a mammalian cell culture room for making large-scale adherent cells for cell therapies, viral vectors, and vaccines, while customers can also experience small to large-scale suspension culture solutions.

Furthermore, the center will act as a training space – both physically and virtually – for Thermo Fisher customers.

“The BDC is providing customized training to meet the needs of various customers and rapidly changing trends, including the latest trends in biopharmaceutical production and processing,” said Heeyeon Son, manager of BDC Training, Korea.

“The BDC holds a variety of educational seminars and conferences to achieve the networking of knowledge that goes beyond the physical space and crosses online and offline.”