Celltrion Launches CDMO Subsidiary ‘BioSolutions’
Factory Construction to Begin in H1 Next Year; Targeting 3 Trillion KRW in Revenue by 2031
Celltrion has established a new subsidiary specializing in contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services, offering comprehensive solutions from drug development to production.
On the 17th, Seo Jeong-jin, Chairman of Celltrion, announced the launch of Celltrion BioSolutions (hereafter referred to as BioSolutions) and the start of its integrated service business. BioSolutions, a 100% subsidiary of Celltrion with an initial capital of 10 billion KRW, will be led by Lee Hyuk-jae, Senior Vice President, who has been overseeing Celltrion’s production development.
BioSolutions aims to provide full-cycle services, including CDO (Contract Development Organization) for preclinical development, CRO (Contract Research Organization) for clinical and regulatory services, and CMO (Contract Manufacturing Organization) for production. The company plans to offer CDO and CRO services that are faster, more cost-efficient, and have higher approval rates than in-house operations by pharmaceutical companies. The CMO segment will focus on high-value and small-batch production, targeting revenue of at least 100 billion KRW per 10,000 liters of production capacity.
Chairman Seo stated, “We plan to begin construction of the factory in the first half of next year, and we will launch CDO and CRO services starting in 2024 even before the factory is built. By 2027, we anticipate CDO and CRO services will generate 100 billion KRW in revenue.”
He added, “Once the factory is completed in 2029, we expect CDO and CRO revenue to reach 500 billion KRW and CMO revenue to reach 1 trillion KRW by 2030. By 2031, we project 1 trillion KRW from CDO and CRO and 2 trillion KRW from CMO, totaling 3 trillion KRW in CDMO revenue.”
To achieve this, production facilities will be gradually expanded to a capacity of 30 liters (20 liters domestically and 10 liters overseas). The first phase will involve expanding capacity to 100,000 liters starting next year, with additional expansion based on demand. The 100,000-liter capacity aligns with Celltrion’s projected future needs, preventing excessive investment. Chairman Seo also highlighted that the construction cost for 100,000 liters is approximately 800 billion KRW, which is significantly lower than competitors thanks to Celltrion’s accumulated expertise.
New investments will be funded through a combination of Celltrion’s internal capital and external financing. Initially, Celltrion plans to invest up to 1.5 trillion KRW for infrastructure and CDO services. If further investments are needed, such as specialized overseas research facilities, the company will secure up to an additional 1.5 trillion KRW in external funding while maintaining a minimum 50% stake in BioSolutions.
Chairman Seo emphasized, “Currently, Lonza is the only company globally offering full-cycle CDMO services, covering CDO, CRO, and CMO. Celltrion’s ability to provide end-to-end services will enable us to engage with a wide range of customers, creating a significant positive impact on the future valuation of the Celltrion Group.”