South Korea’s Samsung BioLogics has started construction work on what it says will be the world’s largest biopharmaceutical plant.
The company’s third plant in Incheon Free Economic Zone, Songdo, South Korea will have a capacity of 180,000 liters and a high level of production efficiency.
Samsung BioLogics is investing 850 billion won ($727 million) in the new facility. It is scheduled to be completed by 2017 and start operating in the fourth quarter of 2018 after validation.
Once the plant is operating, Samsung BioLogics expects to become the world’s largest biologics contract manufacturing organization (CMO) with a total production capacity of 360,000 liters. In the longer term, the company plans to further expand its CMO business with two additional manufacturing plants.
“We are investing in a third plant to provide a stable supply of biopharmaceuticals, a market which is growing exponentially, and to meet the manufacturing demands from global biopharmaceutical companies,” said Dr. TH Kim, CEO of Samsung BioLogics. “With the world’s largest capacity and the capability to operate 365 days a year non-stop, the third plant will boast world-class quality and productivity.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved production from the company’s first plant. The second facility is due to start operating early next year.
