[Special Stock] Microdigital, the Only Domestic Producer, Faces Up to 1-Year Wait for Cell Culture Vaccines Including COVID-19 Vaccine Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Microdigital's stock price continues to rise. The company is the only one in Korea currently producing both disposable cell culture equipment and culture bags, which were previously dominated by foreign companies, leading to a trend of corporate value reassessment.

As of 9:50 a.m. on the 25th, Microdigital is trading at 25,600 KRW, up 4.49% from the previous day.

Senior Researcher Seonghwan Choi of Research Almeum explained, "Large pharmaceutical companies currently contract manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines such as Novavax and Pfizer are facing a situation where they have to wait up to one year to receive culture bags," adding, "This is causing disruptions in vaccine supply."

Culture bags are essential consumables used not only for vaccines but also for manufacturing and experimenting with biopharmaceuticals to reduce time. In the past, stainless steel reusable bioreactors were widely used, but they require sterilization after cell culture, which is a drawback. Using disposable culture bags eliminates this process, allowing only the bag to be replaced, significantly saving time and initial facility costs.

According to the Korea Bio Association, the global disposable culture bag market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 9.8% until 2027, reaching a scale of 700 million USD. Domestically, it is estimated to grow at an average annual rate of 11.7%, forming a market worth approximately 65.9 billion KRW.

Researcher Choi stated, "Only a few overseas companies such as Germany's Sartorius and the United States' Thermo Fisher produce cell culture bags," and added, "With the sudden emergence of the enormous 16 trillion KRW market for COVID-19 vaccines, supply instability is expected to be prolonged."

He further noted, "Microdigital's disposable cell culture system has completed sample deliveries to Samsung Biologics, SK Bioscience, and Celltrion," and added, "Once testing is complete, full-scale supply is expected to begin."

Researcher Choi also emphasized, "As vaccine distribution begins in earnest, demand for antibody diagnostic kits, which can confirm whether antibodies have been produced, will increase more than diagnostic kits that detect COVID-19 infection," adding, "Since vaccination is not a one-time event but requires repeated annual doses, the demand for antibody diagnostic kits will continue steadily, unlike existing diagnostic kits."

He explained, "Microdigital's mass antibody diagnostic kit (Mdgen) uses the ELISA method, the standard for antibody testing, achieving an accuracy of 99%," and added, "It has the advantage of being able to test 96 samples at once."

He continued, "It has passed the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety export approval and the European CE IVD certification," and said, "Discussions are underway to supply other countries, and approval from the U.S. FDA is also in progress, so additional orders are expected in the future."