[Bio Story] Alteogen Leaps onto the Global Stage on the Strength of Its Region

Interview with Taeyeon Jeon, CEO of Alteogen ③


Alteogen, Born in a Small Daejeon Laboratory,

Takes Root as an Anchor Company in the Daejeon Bio Ecosystem

One of the core strongholds of K-bio that is transforming the global pharmaceutical market, worth tens of trillions of won, is not located in Seoul, Incheon, or Pangyo, but in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon Metropolitan City. This is the story of Alteogen, which is making new history for the Korean bio industry by consistently achieving technology export deals worth trillions of won with global pharmaceutical companies.

In Korea's industrial ecosystem, where concentration in the metropolitan area is intensifying, Alteogen is regarded as a successful model that proves a regionally based company can also achieve world-class innovation.

The driving force behind Alteogen's rise as a global biopharma company is its "local talent." On April 23, Taeyeon Jeon, CEO of Alteogen, met with The Asia Business Daily at the company's headquarters in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, and highlighted the contributions of employees who have been dedicated to the company's growth, with special emphasis on the role of researchers who graduated from universities in the region.

Taeyeon Jeon, CEO of Alteogen, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at Alteogen headquarters in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. He evaluated Alteogen's technological capabilities as the achievements of talents from the Daejeon and Chungcheong regions. Photo by Donghoon Jung

CEO Jeon said, "Most of the employees who developed our world-class subcutaneous (SC) injection formulation conversion platform 'Hybrozyme' and built the foundation for our overwhelming productivity are graduates of universities in the Daejeon and Chungcheong regions. Because they worked with an owner's mindset and immersed themselves in research day and night, Alteogen has become the company that global pharmaceutical firms now seek out first." This proves that pure passion, dedication, and competence for technology—rather than the label of being based in the metropolitan area—are the true sources of global competitiveness.

Alteogen's deep roots in the region go beyond one-off achievements; the company is now playing the role of an anchor institution in the Daejeon bio ecosystem. Since its founding in the Daedeok Research Complex in 2008, Alteogen has never left Daejeon and has grown together with the local community.

As the company has expanded, there have been temptations to relocate, but Alteogen instead chose to take a proactive approach by increasing its investments in the Daejeon region. The company is currently pushing forward with the construction of a new headquarters in Daejeon to bring together its research and workforces, which are currently spread across multiple locations. This creates a virtuous cycle of nurturing local talent, creating quality jobs, and making large-scale facility investments.

The positive economic impact that Alteogen has on the Daejeon region is evident in the numbers. Based on steady technology transfers and royalty inflows, the company has recorded significant operating profits and has grown into a key company that pays the highest level of corporate taxes in Daejeon. Alteogen's growth is significant not only as the expansion of a single company but also in terms of balanced national development and the fostering of regional clusters.

CEO Jeon said, "Alteogen was born in Daejeon and has grown together with local talent, working hard side by side. Going forward, we will continue to expand our own production facilities and new headquarters in Daejeon, solidifying our position as a truly global biopharma company that grows together with the local community." Alteogen's journey, which began in a small laboratory in Daejeon, is now redrawing the landscape of the global bio industry beyond Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.