Lotte Biologics signs manufacturing agreement with chemical firm Merck

Industry

Published: 31 May. 2024, 17:15

Lotte Biologics signs manufacturing agreement with chemical firm Merck

Lotte Biologics CEO Richard Lee, left, and Sebastian Arana, head of Process Solutions at Merck, shake hands during a letter of agreement signing ceremony. [LOTTE BIOLOGICS]

Lotte Biologics and Merck, a German chemical and technology giant, signed an agreement for a strategic collaboration in biomanufacturing.

Lotte Biologics, a contract manufacturing and development organization, said Friday that it signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Process Solution division of the German company to collaborate on biopharmaceutical manufacturing and process development.

With the signing of the agreement, the two companies will collaborate in the procurement of raw materials and technologies, establish a stable supply system and develop a support system to set up the Bio-Venture Initiative at Lotte’s upcoming production plant in Incheon. The Bio-Venture Initiative, designed to support biotech startups, will be part of the complex. Ground was broken for the first plant in March, with the plant slated to begin operation in 2027.

Prior to signing the latest agreement, Lotte Biologics signed a memorandum of understanding with MilliporeSigma, Merck’s North American life science operation, in July 2022 for the production facility expansion of Lotte’s Syracuse plant in the United States, as well as a follow-up LOI in April last year.

Merck announced in March that it will build a 300 million euro ($324.5 million) bioprocessing facility in Daejeon, which marks the company’s largest life science investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]