CELLTRION Devotes Itself
to Becoming Top 10 Global
Biopharmaceutical Co.

Recognized for its technology and competitiveness in protein-based pharmaceutical products

Celltrion, Inc. was established in 2002 by foreign and domestic companies in the high-technology park in Songdo New City, part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which aspires to become a business hub of Northeast Asia.
Despite its short corporate history, Celltrion has already gained a reputation for its world-class competitive edge and technological power in the protein-based pharmaceutical products production sector.
"Celltrion is striving to develop into a global top 10 comprehensive biopharmaceutical company, and we are aiming at rising to the No. 1 position in the biotech pharmaceutical production service sector by 2010,"said Celltrion CEO Seo Jung-jin in an interview with NewsWorld. The following are the excerpts of the interview.
Question: Will you introduce your company to our readers?
Answer: Celltrion is a biopharmaceutical company established to develop, produce and supply protein-based pharmaceutical products using such advanced biopharmaceutical technology as recombination and cell cultivation.
Taking into account the characteristics of the biopharmaceutical industry since its inception, Celltrion is not only undertaking construction of infrastructure for manufacturing protein-based medicines, but also turning to a long-term investment strategy for time-consuming new medicine development.
Since its founding, Celltrion has channeled 250 billion won to complete a R&D center for new medicine development and a protein-based pharmaceutical product production facility of 50,000 liter bioreactor capacity, designed to meet standards of the U.S. Federal Drug Administration and EMEA.
Last year we inked a 10 year-old contract to supply biopharmaceutical products from a 50,000-liter bioreactor facility with Britol-Myers Squibb (BMS) of the United States. This past June, Celltrion also singed an additional 60,000-liter bioreactor supply contract to secure a stable profit base.
In order to make good on the terms of the long-term contracts and carry out multiple research projects, Celltrion began to construct an 180,
000-liter protein-based medicine production facility and research labs, including a 3,000-liter pilot plant this past July.
Celltrion is working on the development of colon cancer and breast cancer drugs in cooperation with U.S. and European biopharmaceutical companies with the goal of developing protein-based treatment medicines, including monoclonal antibodies, in the new medicine sector. We are seeking to conclude more joint development contracts as part of our efforts to expand development projects.
Q: Will you tell the achievements your company has made so far this year?
A: The year 2006 is an important year for Celltrion. We have risen to the No. 1 position in the global protein production service sector through facility expansion. Celltrion has begun construction of an additional 180,000-liter protein-based medicine production facility; as such facilities are in short supply globally. If the expansion is complete by 2010, Celltrion will see its protein-based medicine production capacity rise to 230,000 liters to rank first in the protein-based medicine production service field ahead of Boeringger Ingelheim and Lonza and secure about 1 trillion won in sales per year. Around 2010, the company may have room to invest 100 billion won in the new medicine field per annum.
Celltrilion has established a stable business model designed to minimize risks by launching facility expansion in the process of carrying out the contracts it signed with BMS. Celltrion's signing of another new medicine supply contract one year after an initial one indicates that the company has been recognized for its product quality and technology on the global market. They have not only proven that manpower and technology in the domestic life science field reach world-class levels, but they mean that the company is now reaching the stage as a full-fledged global biotechnology company.
Q: Will you elaborate on your company's own technologies and collaboration projects with foreign pharmaceutical companies?
A: Celltrion has two business areas ― the first one deals with the production of protein-based medicines to secure profits, and the other deals with the development of new medicines based on the first business area. The company is undertaking projects designed to collaborate in the supply of new medicines to the world market with foreign giant pharmaceutical companies, while working on joint studies on new medicines with overseas biopharmaceutical powerhouses.
Celltrion inked an agreement to supply 110,000 liters of new medical materials with BMS, the world's 8th largest pharmaceutical company, during the past year and this year. The agreements are expected to supply the key protein of Orencia, a biopharmaceutical for treating rheumatics, whose sales are projected at more than $1 billion per annum. The deals have prompted other prominent pharmaceutical companies to hold negotiations on new projects with Celltrion. The mammalian-cell cultivation technology refers to an advanced one capable of manufacturing protein-based biopharmaceutical products after cultivating living cells, producing high-monocular protein and separating and refining it. Unlike the conventional chemical pharmaceuticals, protein-based drugs have to be cultivated and refined at a scale of 10,000 liters of mammal cells on top of advanced biotechnology equipment. Currently, a limited number of pharmaceutical companies, including Celltrion, Genentech and Amgen, have such state-of-the-art production facility and technology, so most drug makers commission the production of protein-based drugs to such companies as Celltrion with specialized facility and technology. The protein-based drug manufacturing industry has a structural advantage of achieving a stable and continuous growth by adopting a strategy of expanding facilities after reaching prior contracts, thus undoubtedly catapulting Celltrion to the global No. 1 position in the area.
COLLABORATION ON NEW DRUG DEVELOPMENT. Developing a new medicine requires a massive investment ranging from 300 billion won to 500 billion won in a long period of time ranging from five years to 10 years. Despite the situation, the prospects of the new medicine industry are uncertain with the ratio of obtaining an approval from the U.S. FDA standing at 10,000:1. Concentrating on the development of one or two new medicines is too risky, so global pharmaceutical juggernauts tend to collaborate with each other to ensure risk management of new medicine development and raise the success rate. With this paradigm in mind, Celltrion is pursuing joint new medicine projects with prominent business partners based on our expertise in such areas as process development and production of protein-based pharmaceutical products.
These efforts have paid off. We are now working on three joint new biomedicine development projects, including the one on the development of a drug for curing breast cancer with A&G of the United States. Celltrion has secured candidate materials used for antibodies for curing diseases and related basic technologies while sharing patents with business partners. If it succeeds in the commercialization of new medicines under development, Celltrion will have exclusive global production right and marketing right in the Asian market, including Japan and China.
Celltrion is now discussing ways of promoting joint new biomedicine development with biopharmaceutical companies in the United States and Europe. The company aims to secure 30 to 40 candidate materials used for the production of new medicines and patents on six or seven new medicines from the U.S. FDA by 2010.
Q: What's behind the success of Celltrion and will you describe your company's futuristic vision?
A: At the time of founding, Celltrion had a motive for developing the biotechnology industry and contributing to economic development. Recognizing the importance of the industry as a key industrial field of the future, the company has taken an in-depth look into the whole of the industry. The term biotech has been getting familiar to the general public, but that is apparently different in term of a competitive edge.
Considering the backward reality of the domestic biotech industry and the characteristic of the industry ― long-standing investments ―, Celltrilion has adopted a strategy under which it turned to the production of protein-based new medicines to secure a stable profit base before undertaking joint projects with proven pharmaceutical companies to produce new products in a bid to minimize risks arising from new medicine development and purse an efficient long-term investment strategy.
Biotech medicine production technology serves as an integral part of the whole of the biotech pharmaceutical industry. Unlike the conventional production of chemically compounded medicines, production of biotech pharmaceuticals requires advanced equipment and technology in that it involves in cultivating living cells. It requires long-time construction due to the complexity of facilities and an initial investment of more than 200 billion and a one-year validation period after dedicating necessary equipment and devices.
Celltrion has acquired the expertise on the operation of advanced equipment and production by investing into the cultivation of excellent specialized tech manpower with a competitive edge in a short period of time. Such technologies have been proved to be world-class ones on several times. First, Celltrion has never failed during the validation period, compared to a failure rate of about 30 percent to 40 percent in other advanced pharmaceutical companies in the Unites States and Europe. Celltrion has been recognized for its world-class competitive edge and technological power in that it has landed contracts under fair competition with world-class rivals and inked additional contracts.
Capitalizing on the proved world-class technological prowess, Celltrion is pursuing joint new medicine development projects. The company has been flooded with proposals of patent-sharing and joint development with many biotech ventures from around the world.
Celltrion is striving to evolve into a global top 10 comprehensive biopharmaceutical company. The company is aimed at rising to the No. 1 position in the biotech pharmaceutical production service sector by 2010. It plans to secure a pipeline by undertaking 30 to 40 joint new medicine development projects. Celltrion has a plan of posting about 1 trillion won in sales by 2010 and investing some 100 billion won, equivalent to about 10 percent of the sales in conducting joint development projects and its own new medicine development projects. The company is striving to serve as a hub of Asia by building up biotech infrastructure for producing raw materials and equipment through strategic alliances and maximizing productivity of the protein-based pharmaceuticals. The company has been exerting its efforts to make joint development projects a success by capitalizing on the established business foundation and capability while pushing ahead with projects to develop new medicines by securing its own new medicine production capability with the goal of becoming a global top 10 biopharmaceutical company. nw

General view of Celltrion

Celltrion CEO Seo Jung-jin

(Above) Celltrion researchers at a R&D lab & purification room