Goal to Secure Total Production Capacity of 360,000ℓ Across 3 Factories
Japanese Lotte's Foreign Shareholding Approval Smoothly Completed
Songdo, Samba, Celt, Celt Helke, and SK Bioscience Gather
Emerging as the Largest Bio Cluster in Korea
[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Lotte Biologics, which announced a domestic investment of $3 billion (approximately 3.6846 trillion KRW), has chosen Songdo, Incheon as the investment destination. If Lotte Biologics joins Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, and SK Bioscience, Songdo is expected to emerge as the largest and best bio-cluster in Korea.
On the 3rd, Lotte Biologics announced that it submitted a letter of intent related to the project to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) in Songdo, Incheon. Since the establishment of the corporation last year, Songdo has been one of the candidates for a follow-up production base following the Syracuse plant in the United States secured by Lotte Biologics. Besides Songdo, Osong in Chungbuk and Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi also emerged as candidates, but Songdo was ultimately selected over them. Mayor Yoo Jung-bok of Incheon also promised "active support" during his candidacy and stated that he would lead the attraction of Lotte Biologics to Songdo.
Songdo is currently a bio-cluster housing Korea's leading major bio companies. As of the end of last year, Samsung Biologics (58 trillion KRW), Celltrion (25 trillion KRW), Celltrion Healthcare (10 trillion KRW), and SK Bioscience (6 trillion KRW), ranked 1st to 4th in pharmaceutical and bio market capitalization, are all either located or scheduled to be located in Songdo. Starting with the completion of Celltrion's Plant 1 in 2005, Samsung Biologics was established based in Songdo in 2011, and SK Bioscience plans to complete its Research & Process Development (R&PD) center and relocate its headquarters from Pangyo to Songdo by next year. Now, Lotte Biologics is joining this cluster.
Lotte Biologics plans to invest $3 billion to begin construction of its domestic factory, 'Lotte Bio Campus,' in Songdo in the second half of this year. The most likely site is District 11, which is currently under development. Considering that the area is designated as industrial land, it is highly probable that the site will be adjacent to Samsung Biologics' 1st Bio Campus.
Earlier, Lotte Biologics CEO Wonjik Lee presented a goal to start construction of Plant 1 with a production capacity of 120,000 liters in the second half of this year, complete it by the second half of 2025, obtain Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, and begin commercial production in 2027. Furthermore, the plan includes establishing two additional factories of similar size, completing a total production capacity of 360,000 liters.
In addition to the Lotte Biologics factory, the Lotte Bio Campus will also provide various spaces to create an industrial ecosystem. A 'Bio-Venture Initiative' will be established, where startups and ventures can utilize facilities within the campus and continue collaboration.
The issue of attracting foreign investment, which was raised as a potential obstacle, was also easily resolved. To establish a base in economic free zones such as Songdo, foreign capital must account for at least 10% of shares. Currently, the Japanese Lotte Group has invested about 20% of shares in Lotte Biologics, raising concerns that the government might not easily recognize this as foreign capital. However, a Lotte Biologics official explained, "According to a recent authoritative interpretation by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the shares were recognized as foreign capital," adding, "We have been recognized as a foreign-invested company eligible to enter Songdo."
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