[Exclusive] Celltrion Chairman Seo Jungjin: "Discussing Contract Manufacturing with Lotte Biologics... Contract in Mind"

"Considering Production Capacity and Stability"

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jungjin (pictured) said the company is at the stage of officially discussing a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) partnership with Lotte Biologics. The move is seen as an effort to fill the roughly four-year production gap through 2030, when Plants 4 and 5 in Songdo, Incheon, are scheduled for completion, by using domestic contract manufacturing facilities.

Speaking to a reporter after a special lecture at Sogang University in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of November 4, Seo said, "Celltrion and Lotte Biologics are conducting a joint study on contract manufacturing," adding, "The discussions take into account the possibility of signing a contract in the future." Seo added, "Lotte Biologics is still in the early stages of its establishment, and its production capacity is not yet stable, so we are reviewing a range of factors." Rumors of a partnership between the two companies had already circulated within and outside the industry last month, but this is the first time a top decision-maker has directly confirmed them.

Celltrion is looking for external production partners because demand for its manufacturing facilities is rising both internally and externally. Celltrion's consolidated revenue for the third quarter of this year was 1.5755 trillion won, a record high for a single quarter. External CMO orders have also surged. After signing a production contract worth 678.7 billion won with Eli Lilly early this year, Celltrion's external CMO order backlog exceeded 1 trillion won in the first quarter alone. With demand for both its own products and orders from external customers increasing at the same time, the company now has to allocate its limited production lines between them.

According to Celltrion, its current production capacity is approximately 310,000 liters, combining Plants 1 to 3 in Songdo and its Branchburg, New Jersey, plant in the United States. The company aims to increase capacity to 571,000 liters by building Plants 4 and 5 in Songdo and expanding its Branchburg plant in the United States. However, with completion scheduled for 2030, it will have to handle production volumes using only its existing facilities for roughly the next four years.

As the two companies' interests align, discussions are expected to gain momentum. Lotte Biologics will hold a completion ceremony on November 18 and begin operations at its 120,000-liter Plant 1 in Songdo. Celltrion could become Lotte Biologics' first major customer as the company seeks to secure an initial operating rate and commercial production track record for its new plant. Celltrion could lead negotiations from a relatively advantageous position, gain the upper hand in price negotiations, and translate this into lower costs. Another advantage is that both companies are based in Songdo, which could significantly reduce logistics costs and transportation risks compared with using overseas CMOs.

Meanwhile, Seo said that Celltrion's fourth-generation obesity treatment currently in development is expected to go on sale in 2030. Celltrion's obesity drug candidate, "CT-G32/SCO-940," simultaneously targets four hormonal pathways: glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon, and amylin. According to preclinical results, the drug led to greater weight loss and less loss of lean mass, including muscle and bone, than Eli Lilly's obesity treatment retatrutide, which is considered a triple agonist.

"Our goal is to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by February next year and begin dosing the first patients in the second quarter," Seo said. "This treatment is competitive enough to generate more than 9 trillion won in net profit on its own."

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