[Report] "K-Bio Wonderful" Wearing VR Glasses in Milan, Samba Songdo Factory in One Glance

Inside Samsung Bio Booth at the World's Largest Biopharmaceutical Conference 'CPhI 2021'...

The largest single booth (260㎡) of Samsung Biologics at the world's biggest biopharmaceutical conference, 'CPhI Worldwide 2021,' is bustling with visitors.

Foreign visitors are looking inside Incheon Songdo Plant 3 through virtual reality (VR) glasses installed at the Samsung Biologics booth.

[Milan, Italy = Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] "Nice! Wonderful!"

At the Samsung Biologics solo booth at 'CPhI Worldwide 2021,' the world's largest biopharmaceutical conference that opened on the 9th (local time) in Milan, Italy, foreign buyers repeatedly expressed amazement at the virtual reality (VR) tour corner. When wearing VR glasses, the interior of Samsung Biologics Plant 3 in Songdo, Incheon, the world's largest single-facility with a capacity of 180,000 liters (ℓ), unfolds before their eyes. They can vividly see the state-of-the-art facilities such as the bioreactor hall (cultivation room), which is a cell culture facility used in biopharmaceuticals, and the triple-designed cleanroom, as if they were actually visiting the factory. Unlike most biopharmaceutical companies that only display finished products or set up business meeting rooms, Samsung Biologics' exhibition hall, which incorporates IT technology to provide a dynamic experience, captured the attention of buyers.

The booth featured a large panoramic panel that allowed visitors to see at a glance the present and future of Samsung Biologics, which has rapidly emerged as a leading CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization). In particular, Plant 4 (256,000ℓ), which will break its own record as the world's largest facility, is scheduled to be fully operational in 2023. Once Plant 4 is completed, the total capacity will reach 620,000ℓ, accounting for about 30% of the global contract manufacturing (CMO) market. James Choi, Head of the Global Information Marketing Center at Samsung Biologics, emphasized, "Through the contract development acceleration platform 'S-Cellerate,' we have reduced the time required for clients to develop biopharmaceuticals to as short as nine months. Samsung Biologics provides one-stop, end-to-end services from the early stages of biopharmaceutical development to commercial production, rapidly meeting the high standards of global major pharmaceutical companies and strengthening its position."

In recent years, the perspectives of global companies toward Samsung Biologics have noticeably changed. Choi explained, "With the planned construction of a second bio campus covering an additional 1 million square meters in Songdo, Incheon, and the expansion of messenger RNA (mRNA) active pharmaceutical ingredient production facilities aimed for operation next year, we will be able to produce various types of medicines including cell and gene therapies and vaccines, thereby expanding new business opportunities."

Appearance of the Korea Pavilion installed at 'CPhI Worldwide 2021'

Promoting 'K-Bio' at the Korean Pavilion... The Only National Pavilion in Asia

This year's CPhI event, held for the first time in two years due to COVID-19, gathered about 1,400 companies from 170 countries worldwide. Although the number of participants decreased compared to over 2,500 companies in 2019, the enthusiasm of pharmaceutical and bio companies embracing the 'With COVID' era was hotter than ever.

The Korean Pavilion stood out this year as well. Due to the impact of COVID-19, major raw material pharmaceutical market leaders from China and India largely did not participate, making Korea the only Asian country to set up a national pavilion. About 19 companies and organizations, including Huons Global, JW Holdings, Ildong Pharmaceutical, Boryung Pharmaceutical, Chong Kun Dang Bio, the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association, and KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency), actively participated to attract clients.

In particular, domestic companies are seizing the opportunity presented by COVID-19 to target niche markets and expand exports. Go Han-seok, Director of Overseas Business at Huons Global, said, "There are sectors that benefited from COVID-19," adding, "Overseas sales of the blood coagulation inhibitor 'Fine Injection' and the anti-inflammatory drug 'Dexamethasone,' used in treating COVID-19 patients, have significantly increased." Jung Hye-jin, Overseas Sales Team Leader of the Global Business Division at JW Holdings, noted, "Due to the surge in demand for antibiotics caused by COVID-19, prices rose and shortages occurred. We have received requests from clients to consider JW Pharmaceutical, which has established a production portfolio of four carbapenem antibiotics?Imipenem, Meropenem, Ertapenem, and Doripenem?as a second partner."

Baek Seung-yeol, Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association and CEO of Daewon Pharmaceutical, said, "The strong willingness to participate in a global conference despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is evidence of the growing competitiveness and expectations for K-Bio."