CJ, Lotte, Orion... Three 'Bio Newcomers' with Diverse Goals

A bird's-eye view of Lotte Biologics' 'Lotte Bio Campus.' / Photo by Lotte Biologics

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Last year, large conglomerate subsidiaries that ventured into the bio business took aggressive steps.

CJ Bioscience was launched in early January last year as a specialized subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang's Red Bio (pharmaceuticals and healthcare). Previously, CJ exited the bio business after selling CJ Healthcare (now HK Innoen), known for its hangover relief products and Hovenia dulcis beverages, in 2018. Later, CJ re-entered the market by acquiring ChunLab and renaming it CJ Bioscience. Since its launch, CJ Bioscience has focused on research and development (R&D) and accelerating new drug development, aiming to develop microbiome-based new drugs. The microbiome is a compound word of micro (microorganisms) and biome (ecosystem), referring to the microorganisms and their genes present in the human body. At its inception, CJ Bioscience announced plans to maximize synergy by combining CJ CheilJedang's microbial fermentation technology with precise microbiome analysis and discovery capabilities.

The clinical trial plan for microbiome substances has also been submitted. Last month, CJ Bioscience submitted a clinical phase 1 and 2 trial plan for the immuno-oncology candidate substance ‘CJRB-101’ to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). CJRB-101 is a microbiome-based substance developed through immunological review based on the strain library built by CJ CheilJedang.

Lotte is focusing on contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). In June last year, Lotte Group entered the bio business by newly establishing Lotte Biologics. Lotte Biologics is actively advancing into the bio industry, with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin urging in his New Year's address that "in newly started fields, we must build core competencies to become a leading company." Lotte Biologics is expanding aggressively through investments. Following the completion of the acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)'s Syracuse plant in the U.S. on the 3rd, it announced plans to establish the Lotte Bio Campus in Korea with an investment of approximately 3 trillion won. Specifically, construction of the first plant will begin in the second half of this year, with completion scheduled for the second half of 2025, followed by pharmaceutical manufacturing and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) approval in the second half of 2026, and production starting in 2027.

Orion Holdings also newly launched Orion Biologics as a subsidiary in November last year. Orion Biologics is a joint venture between Orion Holdings and Hisense Bio. The ownership ratio is 60% Orion and 40% Hisense Bio. In its early business stage, Orion Biologics plans to enter the dental disease treatment market. Earlier, in 2020, Orion established a joint venture called ‘Shandong Lukang Haoliyou’ with the Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Shandong Lukang. The joint venture operates mainly in diagnostic kits and vaccines in the Chinese market.

Among the top 20 conglomerates by business ranking, seven have pharmaceutical, bio, and healthcare subsidiaries. In addition to companies like Samsung, SK, and LG that had already entered the bio business, there are Lotte (Lotte Biologics), GS (Hugel), CJ (CJ Bioscience), and Kakao (Kakao Healthcare).