Samsung Biologics' new plant set to be completed next month: CEO

SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- The chief of Samsung Biologics Co., the biotech arm of South Korea's Samsung Group, said Friday its new biomedicine production facility will be completed next month.

"Our fifth plant at our new bio complex will be completed next month," John Rim, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Samsung Biologics, said during a general shareholders meeting held in Songdo, west of Seoul.

The company has invested 1.98 trillion won (US$1.36 billion) to build Plant 5, the first production facility to be built at its new Bio Campus II complex in Songdo.

With a production capacity of 180,000 liters, Plant 5 will house 12 bioreactors of 15,000 liters each, bringing Samsung Biologics' total capacity to a world-leading 784,000 liters.

The Samsung Biologics CEO said the company will continue making efforts to expand its presence on the global stage.

Samsung Biologics posted more than 4 trillion won in sales last year thanks to large-scale new contracts with global leading pharmaceutical companies and the full operation of Plant 4, the largest bio plant in the country.

It became the first South Korean pharmaceutical or biotech firm to surpass the 4 trillion-won sales mark.

brk@yna.co.kr
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