SK Pharmteco opens 2nd biomanufacturing plant in France

SK Pharmteco Co., South Korean conglomerate SK Group’s contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has secured a second plant in France that will double its production capacity of viral vectors.

Viral vectors are the preferred gene delivery system used to manufacture cell and gene therapy products.

Yposkesi, SK Pharmteco’s clinical and commercial viral vector subsidiary, completed construction of its new, 5,000 square meter industrial bioproduction site for cell and gene therapy production at the Genopole campus in Evry-Courcouronnes. According to both companies, it is France's largest biotech cluster.

Yposkesi already operates a plant there with the same capacity. Both factories comply with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) guidelines in Europe and the US, which provide systems to assure proper design, monitoring, and control of manufacturing processes and facilities.

The French-based CDMO said the second factory, built with an investment of $65.3 million, will double its production capacity to up to 75 batches per year. The new site is scheduled to start operation in 2024.

“This twin site enables us to stay up to pace with demand by producing larger quantities of C> products approved for commercialization,” said Yposkesi CEO Alain Lamproye in a statement, referring to cell and gene therapy.

“The facility’s state-of-the-art design will allow us, in collaboration with our clients, to manufacture advanced therapies more efficiently and cost-effectively in line with their C> pipelines and commitments, making these treatments more accessible to patients.”

TO MEET GROWING DEMAND FOR CELL AND GENE THERAPY MEDICINE

Cell and gene therapy products are among the most advanced personalized forms of medicine for treating critical diseases and rare disorders. Demand for them is growing due to their strong treatment effectiveness and fewer side effects because they are made with patients’ own genes and cells.

About half of the biopharmaceuticals now under clinical development in the US and Europe are cell and gene therapy products.

Yposkesi plans to manufacture viral vectors — the core materials for cell and gene therapy medicine.

The global viral vector production market is forecast to more than double to $12.8 billion by 2028 from an estimated $5.5 billion this year, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.

SK Inc., the parent company of SK Pharmteco, acquired Yposkesi in 2021. The SK Group investment holding company invested $350 million, through SK Pharmteco, in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM), a US CGT CDMO based in Pennsylvania, to become its second-largest shareholder last year.

Write to Jeong Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.