SK Pharmteco Secures Large-Scale Production System for Cell and Gene Therapies

CDMO Subsidiary Epos케시 Completes Construction of European Plant 2

SK Inc.'s pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) subsidiary SK Pharmteco is establishing a large-scale production system for cell and gene therapies (CGT) in Europe to accelerate its expansion into overseas markets.

On the 22nd (local time), SK Pharmteco announced that its French cell and gene therapy CDMO subsidiary, Eposkesy, has completed its second plant equipped with large-scale commercial production facilities.

On the 22nd (local time), Alain Lamproye, CEO of Eposkeshi (left), and Yog Algrim, CEO of SK Pharmteco, attended the completion ceremony of Eposkeshi's 2nd plant held in Genoble, France.

Located alongside the first plant in Genopole, France's largest bio-cluster, the second plant spans 5,000㎡ and was designed in accordance with the advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control standards (cGMP) of Europe and the United States. Eposkesy has secured a total facility area of 10,000㎡, one of the largest in Europe.

The second plant will produce adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentiviral vector (LV), the viral vectors most commonly used in cell and gene therapies, from clinical to commercial scale. Viral vectors serve as carriers that deliver genes to target cells and within the body; adeno-associated viruses are mainly used in gene therapies, while lentiviral vectors are used in cell therapies.

Based on its technological capability to produce high-quality viral vectors even in large-scale commercial production, Eposkesy has already signed multiple production contracts for the second plant and plans to commence full-scale mass production starting in 2024.

Additionally, Eposkesy has launched its proprietary production platform, LentiSure, which significantly enhances the production efficiency of lentiviral vectors, further accelerating its push into the cancer and immune cell therapy markets.

The demand for lentiviral vectors has surged alongside the growth of the CAR-T cell therapy market. Eposkesy has secured both quality and productivity of lentiviral vectors based on its high-yield cell culture and harvesting capabilities and cost competitiveness.

Alain Lamproye, CEO of Eposkesy, stated, "With the completion of the second plant equipped with advanced facilities, our competitiveness in terms of time, cost, and quality has been greatly strengthened. We will respond to the rapidly increasing demand for cell and gene therapy production."

Yeontae Kim, Head of SK Inc.'s Bio Investment Center, said, "We expect Eposkesy to leap forward as a global leading cell and gene therapy CDMO by creating synergy with CBM, a U.S. cell and gene therapy CDMO and another investment company of SK Pharmteco."

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