AsianScientist (Apr. 25, 2014) – South Korean biopharmaceutical company Green Cross will build a new biologics manufacturing facility in Canada, as part of the company’s efforts to expand its biologics business to North America.
The plant will be located in Montréal, Québec, and construction will begin later this year, with commercial production scheduled to begin in 2019. The new facility will have the capacity to fractionate up to one million liters of plasma a year.
Green Cross Biotherapeutics (GCBT), a new subsidiary of Green Cross, signed an agreement on the 4th of April with Investissement Québec to receive a financial commitment totaling CAD25 million (US$23 million) for the proposed project. Green Cross projects the total capital expenditure at the new site to exceed CAD180 million (US$163 million) over the next five years.
The Green Cross products that will be manufactured in Canada include Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) for patients with infectious and immune disorders and albumin products to treat burns and clotting factor for bleeding disorders.
GCBT has also signed an agreement on the same day with Héma-Québec to supply Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) as soon as production begins at the new plant. With this agreement GCBT will supply IVIGs to Héma-Québec for the period of five years with three year or more renewal options.
“North America is an extremely important market for us. The market for IVIG particularly is booming with Canada one of the world’s highest per capita users, and North America constitutes more than 40 percent of the global plasma-products market,” said Kim Young-Ho, President of GCBT. “We expect the annual sales will reach up to CAD300 million (US$272 million) over the next ten years.”
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Source: Green Cross.
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