GC Cell, Hires CEO from Samba... Is Full-Scale Entry into CDMO Underway?

Samba Global Sales Center Head
Appointed as CEO James Park

Expected to Expand CDMO Capabilities

James Park, former Vice President of Samsung Biologics

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] GC Cell (GC Cell) has newly appointed a CEO following the appointment of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In particular, with the addition of former Samsung Biologics Vice President James Park as CEO, there is an expectation that GC Cell's entry into the gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business will gain momentum.

According to industry sources on the 26th, GC Cell has recruited James Park, who led the Global Sales Center at Samsung Biologics, as a CEO candidate. He is expected to be officially appointed through procedures such as the shareholders' meeting in March.

Vice President Park served as the head of the Global Sales Center at Samsung Biologics, leading contract manufacturing organization (CMO) sales activities. Born in 1966, he holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) and a master's degree in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University. He subsequently worked in product development at Merck in the U.S., served as Director of BD at BMS, and joined Samsung Biologics in 2015 as Vice President of Global Business Development (BD). He is recognized for playing a pivotal role in securing numerous global CMO contracts for Samsung Biologics while leading the Global Sales Center.

A GC Cell official stated, "(Former Vice President James Park) has been tentatively appointed as a CEO candidate and is currently familiarizing himself with related tasks," adding, "However, formal appointment requires procedures such as board approval and shareholders' meeting."

Kim Ho-won, New GC Cell CTO
[Photo by GC Cell]

GC Cell has recently been actively recruiting talent, including the appointment of new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Ho-won Kim. The new CTO Kim graduated from Seoul National University College of Pharmacy, earned a master's degree in Immunology from the same university's graduate school, and obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCLA School of Medicine. He has led cell therapy research at global biotech companies such as Stemgent, Origin, and Stemcell Technology, and most recently co-founded the biotech company K2B Therapeutics based in Boston, USA, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) leading cancer drug development.

This ongoing talent acquisition effort appears to be part of a plan to further expand the gene therapy CDMO business. GC Cell, established in November 2021 through the merger of GC Green Cross LabCell and GC Green Cross Cell, has continued research on various cell therapy pipelines while consistently emphasizing its intention to enter the CDMO business.

The expectation that CDMO capabilities will be further enhanced with the addition of former Vice President James Park is growing. Notably, in April last year, together with Green Cross Holdings (GC), GC Cell acquired the U.S. gene therapy CDMO company Bioscentric for $73 million (approximately 90 billion KRW), and it is anticipated that synergies will emerge based on James Park’s contract acquisition capabilities.

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