Lotte Biologics to invest $3 bn to build 3 plants by 2030

The company’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Won-jik announced the mid- and long-term plan during a J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco [Source : Lotte Biologics]

Lotte Biologics Co. will invest $3 billion to build a bio industrial complex that will house three plants with an annual production capacity of 360,000 liters of antibody drugs in South Korea by 2030.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Won-jik announced the mid- and long-term plan during a J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco, saying that Lotte Biologics will strengthen business competitiveness to become a major player in the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market through a two-track strategy of acquisitions and new facilities.

The pharmaceutical unit under the retail giant Lotte Group will start building the first plant in the production complex named Lotte Bio Campus in the second half of this year. The first factory is scheduled for commercial production from 2027 and the complex will be completed in 2034 with a revenue target of $3 billion and an operating profit margin of 35 percent.

The investment plan came after Lotte Biologics completed the acquisition of a plant from global biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb in Syracuse, New York for $160 million on Jan. 1 as part of its strategy to go overseas.

To develop the Syracuse plant as Lotte Biologics’ North American center, the company is considering consignment production services for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and additional facilities for clinical supply and finished products. Lee added.