[Journalism Internship] Celltrion and Samsung Biologics drive CDMO growth in Korea
Published: 15 Jan. 2025, 16:11
![Celltrion chairman and founder Seo Jung-jin announces the launch of Celltrion BioSolutions during an online press conference on Dec. 17, 2024. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/15/5dc4be20-d626-48db-a0a8-dcfde84c17bb.jpg)
Celltrion chairman and founder Seo Jung-jin announces the launch of Celltrion BioSolutions during an online press conference on Dec. 17, 2024. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Charlotte Shin Choe, Cho Min-seo, Ham Do-eun, Lim Ji-yun
Celltrion Group established a new bio solutions subsidiary on Nov. 27 focused on contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) in biopharmaceuticals, signaling yet another Korean biotech company’s entry into the burgeoning market.
Based in Hong Kong, the subsidiary represents Celltrion’s strategic response to the growing global demand for biopharmaceuticals and the increasing trend of outsourcing drug development and manufacturing services both domestically and internationally. With plans to invest up to 3 trillion won ($2.05 billion), Celltrion aims to leverage its expertise, advanced technology and scalable operations to meet clients' needs efficiently.
A CDMO is a company that provides services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, helping them develop and manufacture drugs. It handles tasks like research, formulation, production and packaging, allowing companies to focus on other aspects of business, such as marketing and distribution.
CDMOs are increasingly becoming indispensable partners in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, offering a cost-effective and scalable drug development and production solution. By outsourcing to CDMOs, companies reduce capital expenditure on manufacturing facilities and accelerate time-to-market, gaining a competitive advantage.
These organizations provide specialized expertise, advanced technology and regulatory compliance, ensuring high-quality product delivery. The growing reliance on CDMOs signals a lucrative opportunity for investors in a rapidly expanding market.
The global pharmaceutical CDMO market is experiencing robust growth, with a valuation of approximately $146 billion in 2023 and a projected expansion to $315 billion by 2034, reflecting a steady compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.24 percent, according to consulting firm Towards Healthcare.
Korea’s CDMO industry is also rapidly growing, driven by strong players like Samsung Biologics and Celltrion, as well as competitive costs and government backing.
The country’s small molecule CDMO market generated $2.33 billion in 2023, and it is on track to reach $3.79 billion by 2030, growing at a comparable CAGR of 7.2 percent, according to research institute Grand View Research.
The global CDMO market is currently defined by its prominent global and regional leaders, with companies like Switzerland's Lonza Group leading biopharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide.
In Korea, Samsung Biologics has emerged as a dominant player, boasting the world’s largest production capacity of 424,000 liters (112,008 gallons) as of 2022. Celltrion is also making a significant impact with $1 billion in investment in a new CDMO plan. Together, these companies are positioning Korea as a contributor to the global CDMO landscape.
Celltrion’s entry into the CDMO sector marks a pivotal moment in the rapid growth of South Korea’s biotech industry. Significant investments like this continue to propel research and development, fostering innovation that positions the country as a potential “global CDMO production base,” a vision outlined by Celltrion chairman and founder Seo Jung-jin.
Celltrion’s newest subsidiary, Celltrion BioSolutions plans to commence construction of a 100,000-liter CDMO plant in the first half of 2025, as reported by The Korea Economic Daily. This development aligns with Celltrion’s goal of competing with other companies, such as Lonza.
Aside from economic development, Celltrion can now aid the biotech industry even more with the accelerated development of pharmaceuticals, particularly biosimilars. The term biosimilars refers to medicines that are similar in function or structure to biological medicines.
The company currently has eight biosimilars approved and is expected to release the FDA-approved Steqeyma in 2025, according to news outlet Pharma Manufacturing. Celltrion aims to obtain approval for 11 different types of products by 2025.
The growth of the CDMO sector, bolstered by robust government spending and policy support, underscores the promising future of Korea’s biotech landscape.
In terms of economic growth, as reported by the Korea Bioeconomy Research Center, the total sales of the domestic bio industry recorded $2.4 billion in 2023 and $2.7 billion in 2024. Sales are estimated to increase by an average of 13.2 percent each year.
Domestic pharmaceutical production also increased by 8.6 percent on average from 2018, and the total market size expanded by an average of 6.61 percent. These increasing trends show the positivity and efficacy of the government’s investments in biotechnology industries.
Of the members of the Korean Biotechnology Industry Organization, 58.6 percent had positive opinions on the country’s biotech industry outlook in 2025, while 31 percent had negative opinions and 10.4 percent had other opinions, as reported by the Korean Bio Organization.
Korea's government has come up with policies to promote the development of the biotechnology industry. The government invests subsidies in biotechnology R&D and in the use of AI and technologies to help drug development go digital.
The government is aiming to produce new drugs at the global blockbuster level by investing about 2.5 billion won from 2023 to 2027 in public and private R&D.
The Health Ministry announced a comprehensive plan for fostering and supporting the biopharmaceutical industry until 2027.
BY CHARLOTTE SHIN CHOE, CHO MIN-SEO, HAM DO-EUN, LIM JI-YUN [[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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