Matica Bio wants to be W1 trillion company by 2030

From left: CHA Biotech CEO Oh Sang-hoon, Matica Biotechnology CEO Song Yun-jeong and CHA Biolab CEO Choi Sung-chul speak at a press conference Thursday. [CHA BIO GROUP]

Matica Biotechnology set a goal of 1 trillion won in sales by 2030 as its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business for cell and gene treatments grows.

Matica Biotechnology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CHA Biotech, says it aims to become one of the world’s top five cell and gene therapy CDMO companies.

The company opened a cell and gene therapy manufacturing plant in Texas in May. CEO Song Yun-jeong announced at a press conference Thursday that the company signed a CDMO contract with a U.S.-based gene therapy maker she didn't name.

The company is currently talking with about 50 companies to carry out more CDMO deals, Song said.

Matica Biotechnology will also produce viral vectors, which are core materials used for the development of cell and gene therapies. The company is working with Sartorius, a German bio company, to develop technologies that will allow it to produce viral vectors on a large scale.

Although big business groups like Lotte and SK are entering the CDMO market, Matica Biotechnology says its experience gives it the upper hand.

“The development timeline for cell and gene therapy is much faster than developing other biopharm products or therapeutic antibodies,” said Song. “Cell and gene therapy is also a new modality with new regulations and guidelines continuously coming out, and responding to them both rapidly and flexibly is very important.

“We are in a stage in which the cell and gene therapy market and related technologies have just started to develop, and we think its more important to enhance competitiveness through experience in the field, rather than increase competitiveness through having huge capital.”

The company has expertise in developing drugs and submitting them for approval to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Some 70 percent of its employees are in research and production, which Song says is higher than at other local CDMO companies.

“CHA Bio Group has focused on cell treatments for 20 years and has experience and knowledge in the field, but not in gene therapy,” said Choi Sung-chul, CEO of CHA Biolab. “With Matica Biotechnology, which has gene therapy expertise, we plan to create synergies with each other and grow together.”

Matica Biotechnology is planning more manufacturing facilities.

Its plant in Texas is equipped with a 500-liter bioreactor, and the company is considering building another facility nearby with a 2,000-liter bioreactor.

Cell Gene Biobank, another cell and gene treatment manufacturing plant, is currently being built in Pangyo, Gyeonggi, and will open in 2024. The 66,115-square-meter facility will be able to manufacture cell and gene treatments, mRNAs, viral vectors and plasmid DNAs.

lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr