Lotte heir spotlights biopharma as group’s future

Lotte Group has reaffirmed the importance of its biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization, or CDMO, firm Lotte Biologics, as the Korean conglomerate’s future growth engine.

“We have reached this significant day thanks to the unwavering dedication of employees from our construction and biotech affiliates, who have worked tirelessly in their respective roles since we first broke ground on this site,” said Shin Yoo-yeol, chief strategy officer at Lotte Biologics, during a topping out ceremony held for Plant 1 at the company's Songdo Bio Campus in Incheon on Tuesday. Shin, who also heads Lotte Group’s future growth division, is the eldest son of Lotte Group Chair Shin Dong-bin.

“Lotte Biologics will grow to become not only a new growth engine for our group but also a company that represents Lotte’s future."

As the ceremony marked the placement of the main ridge beam, the highest structural component of a building’s roof, Lotte Biologics said the event signified a milestone towards the plant’s completion. The site’s structural frame was finished in about 18 months after the ground-breaking ceremony in March last year.

Lotte Biologics’ Plant 1, an antibody therapeutic manufacturing facility, is expected to be completed next year and aims to begin mass-scale commercial production in the first half of 2027 with an annual production capacity of 120,000 liters. The company plans to build two more production sites at the Songdo Bio Campus.

Lotte Biologics said it is poised to maximize synergies through its dual-site operations in Syracuse, New York, and Songdo, Incheon. The company acquired Bristol Myers Squibb’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Syracuse in 2022 for $160 million as it officially announced its entrance into the global CDMO industry.

While the Syracuse Bio Campus, which has an annual production capacity of 40,000 liters, will serve as a one-stop CDMO hub for antibodies as well as antibody-drug conjugates, Lotte Biologics noted the Songdo Bio Campus will function as a complementary large-scale manufacturing base.

“The topping out ceremony for Plant 1 is not just a crucial stepping stone for Lotte Biologics’ growth; it is a meaningful moment that opens a new chapter for Korea's bio-industry,” said Lotte Biologics CEO James Park.

“Through continued investment and technological development, we are committed to leading the global CDMO market and growing into a company that contributes to the advancement of human health."