SK Pharmteco secures 12 global pharma clients, sets up US R&D center

SK Pharmteco Co., South Korean conglomerate SK Group’s contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has secured 12 global pharmaceutical companies as its clients.

An affiliate of SK Inc., SK Pharmteco has vowed to venture into the oligonucleotides, mRNA and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) businesses as well as the synthetic pharmaceuticals and cell and gene therapies (CGT) projects, Chief Executive Joerg Ahlgrimm said in a recent video interview with The Korea Economic Daily.

He said the company has built a research center in the US for oligonucleotides and is considering another R&D center for mRNA production.

Over the years, SK Pharmteco has bolstered its expertise in synthetic pharmaceuticals and CGT through a series of mergers and acquisitions.

The company's combined synthetic pharmaceutical production capacity at its US, European and Korean facilities, currently stands at 1,075 cubic meters. It plans to expand the capacity by 22% to 1,320 cubic meters by 2026.

The CEO said major pharmaceutical players worldwide are aggressively working on synthetic pharmaceuticals, CGT, and intermediate therapies and SK Pharmteco is intensifying its R&D efforts in that regard.

“We are continuing to expand our facilities across the world,” he said.

SK Pharmteco has also invested in its French subsidiary Yposkesi and US affiliate CBM.

CBM is slated to complete a 700,000 square feet CGT CDMO facility – the world’s largest – by the end of 2026.

Ahlgrimm said the company aims to produce 200 to 300 batches of viral vectors a day at the US plant.

A viral vector is a core material for CGT production, functioning as a virus delivery mechanism.

SK Pharmteco also plans to expand into the mRNA and ADC businesses, which the CEO said are expected to recover next year from a recent slowdown.

Write to Jeong Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com