○ The dream of Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) to build Songdo to the K- biopharmaceutical hub has reached a significant milestone with the groundbreaking of Lotte Biologics' Plant 1 at the Songdo Bio Campus on July 3. This event marks a pivotal moment in Songdo's evolution as a global bio cluster, with the IFEZ announcing that the region's biopharmaceutical production capacity has now reached 1.16 million liters.
○ Earlier, Samsung Group entered the bio business in Songdo in 2012, targeting the global market. The journey began with the construction of Samsung Biologics' first plant in July 2012. By 2013, Samsung Biologics had signed contracts with global pharmaceutical giants such as Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Roche, marking its initial steps into the biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing (CMO) business. The company continued its expansion with the completion of Plant 2 in 2015, Plant 3 in 2017, and Plant 4 in 2022. This April, Samsung Biologics began construction of Plant 5, which is set to surpass 784,000 liters annually, establishing itself as the world's largest production facility.
○ Lotte Group, another major player, established Lotte Biologics in 2022, entering the biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business. Last year, Lotte Biologics acquired a production plant from a global pharmaceutical company and secured land in Songdo through the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority. The groundbreaking ceremony for Lotte Biologics' Plant 1, capable of producing 120,000 liters, signals the start of the Songdo era. The company plans to complete construction by 2025 and expand to a total of 360,000 liters by establishing three plants by 2030.
○ The biopharmaceutical landscape in Songdo is further enriched by other key players. Celltrion is set to complete a production capacity of 250,000 liters (Plants 1, 2, and 3) within the year. SK Bioscience is building a global research and process development (R&PD) center in Songdo, expected to be completed next year. This center will also serve as the new headquarters for SK Bioscience, relocating from Pangyo.
○ Songdo's strategic importance as a global bio cluster is underscored by the presence of leading bio companies such as Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, and SK Bioscience, as well as global raw material companies like Merck, Sartorius, Cytiva, and Thermo Fisher. Various national projects, such as the 'Bio Process Talent Development Center' and the 'Global Bio Campus,' are being promoted in Songdo. The Bio Process Talent Development Center aims to establish a bio process training center at the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) level and train about 2,000 bio professionals annually. Additionally, Songdo has been selected as the site for the “K-Bio Lab Hub,” which benchmarks the Boston Bio Cluster in the United States.
○ Yoon Won-seok, Commissioner of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, expressed optimism about the future, stating, "We expect new investment demand due to the decoupling from China and supply chain reorganization." He added, "Incheon, home to the nation's largest free economic zone, will proactively respond and seize opportunities." Commissioner Yoon emphasized Incheon's pivotal role in the national bio industry, saying, "Incheon will play a pivotal role in leading the national bio industry," and "We will lead the global market in line with the government's blueprint to create the world's largest bio production base centered in Incheon."
○ Looking ahead, the completion of Samsung Biologics' second campus (Plants 5, 6, 7, and 8) and Lotte Biologics' Songdo Bio Campus (Plants 1, 2, and 3) is expected to raise the production capacity to 2.14 million liters by 2030. Once Plant 8 is completed by 2032, Samsung Biologics' production capacity will significantly increase to 1.324 million liters, further solidifying Songdo's position as a global leader in the biopharmaceutical industry.