Incheon Songdo Biopharmaceutical Production Capacity Keeps Growing...Projected to Reach 2.14 Million Liters by 2030

Reaching 1.16 Million Liters Within This Year... Securing a Dominant Edge by 2030
Celltrion, Samsung Biologics and Lotte Biologics Continue Expanding Mega Plants
SK Bioscience R&PD Center Joins Songdo... Emerging as an R&D Hub

Biopharmaceutical production capacity centered around the bio cluster in Songdo International City, Incheon, is growing rapidly and is expected to reach 2.14 million liters by 2030, securing a dominant competitive edge.

According to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority on February 19, the biopharmaceutical production capacity of the Songdo bio cluster has grown sharply from 50,000 liters in 2010 to 330,000 liters in 2015 and 560,000 liters in 2020, and last year the total production capacity surpassed the seven-figure mark for the first time, reaching 1,035,000 liters.

This year, once Lotte Biologics' Plant 1 (120,000 liters) is completed at the end of the year, Songdo's biopharmaceutical production capacity will reach 1,155,000 liters, and it is projected to increase to 2.14 million liters by 2030.

Songdo biopharmaceutical production capacity. Provided by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority

Celltrion, the first company to move into the Songdo bio cluster, has secured a total production capacity of 250,000 liters by starting commercial production at its Plant 3 (60,000 liters) at the end of 2024, following its existing Plants 1 and 2 (190,000 liters). A new drug product (DP) plant is being built with completion targeted for this year, and full-scale production is scheduled to begin next year.

Samsung Biologics built its first plant (30,000 liters) in Songdo in 2012, marking its initial step into the biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing business. It subsequently completed its first bio campus (Plants 1 to 4) in stages by 2024, and in April last year it brought Plant 5 (180,000 liters) online, securing a production capacity of 785,000 liters. The company plans to complete its second campus (Plants 5 to 8) by 2032 and expand its production capacity to 1,325,000 liters.

Lotte Biologics will complete Plant 1 of the Songdo Bio Campus this year and begin production in January next year, and it also plans to sequentially build Plants 2 and 3 (120,000 liters each).

Celltrion is expanding production and research facilities in Songdo District 4. Provided by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority

Beyond biopharmaceutical production capabilities, Songdo is also emerging as a key research and development (R&D) hub as global bio companies cluster there.

SK Bioscience recently completed the relocation of its headquarters and research institute to its newly built global R&PD (Research & Process Development) Center in Songdo 7 Gonggu. The center houses Korea's largest integrated facility for vaccine research and process development and will serve as an R&D base for developing new pipelines. German biopharmaceutical raw material and equipment company Sartorius Korea Operations is also building production and research facilities in Songdo 5 Gonggu, targeting completion in 2027.

The Bioprocess Human Resources Training Center, which opened late last year on Yonsei University's Songdo International Campus, is equipped with a bioprocess training site that meets GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards and will train around 2,000 biopharmaceutical professionals annually.

In addition, Songdo has been selected as the site for the K-Bio Lab Hub, a project benchmarked against the Boston bio cluster in the United States, serving as a focal point where bio startups and promising companies can gather and grow together. After three years of pilot projects, including open innovation programs starting last year, the hub is scheduled to officially open in 2028.

An official from the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said, "Incheon Songdo is evolving beyond being the world's largest biomanufacturing base into a bio innovation hub," adding, "We will develop it into a global mega bio cluster based on its production capacity and pool of biopharmaceutical professionals."

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