Amicogen Moves Overseas-Produced 'Dedicated Media' Production to Songdo, Kicking Off Biopharmaceutical Raw Materials and Supplies CMO Business

[Financial News]  Amicogen is making a full-fledged entry into the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) market for biopharmaceutical raw materials and supplies, leveraging its cell culture media plant in Songdo International City, Incheon Metropolitan City. Rather than simply selling its self-developed Korean-made media, the company will domestically manufacture "in-house media" whose production pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies had previously outsourced to overseas manufacturers.
According to the company on the 1st, Amicogen has completed equipment qualification and validation at its Songdo International City media production facility, along with the establishment of a quality system. It is now moving ahead with contract manufacturing of media made with customers' proprietary formulations.
Cell culture media are essential raw materials and supplies used to grow cells during biopharmaceutical production. Replacing media already used in commercial manufacturing can require performance testing, process compatibility reviews, and quality and regulatory assessments, making it difficult to switch suppliers.
Amicogen is targeting this market by accepting the formulations and quality requirements that customers use in their existing processes and producing the media at its Songdo International City facility. The strategy is designed to reduce the burden of process changes while lowering reliance on overseas production.
The Songdo International City plant can produce both powdered and liquid media, serving needs ranging from small-scale research and development quantities to commercial production. Amicogen is currently conducting media evaluations or related business projects with about 30 domestic and overseas companies, including 13 antibody biopharmaceutical companies, 11 cell therapy companies, and one vaccine company.
Amicogen plans to convert these evaluation volumes into actual supply and contract manufacturing while developing three core business areas: commercial CMO services for in-house media, catalog media for research use, and the joint development of customized media. The company is also targeting demand for dual sourcing, in which customers use both overseas suppliers and the Songdo International City plant.
Son Chang-bin, head of Amicogen's Biotech Business Division, said, "Domestic companies can now have the in-house media they previously imported after outsourcing production to overseas manufacturers produced locally at our Songdo International City infrastructure. We will expand its application at biopharmaceutical production sites in Korea."
A biotech industry official added, "Once media enter a commercial production process, they are not easy materials to replace suppliers for. The key is how quickly the customer evaluations currently underway lead to commercial supply contracts and recurring revenue."

[email protected] Kim Kyung-ah Reporter