[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin said on March 23 that Celltrion Pharm is considering buying a company in India that produces active pharmaceutical ingredients to push new drug development.

“Biosimilars are mainly used in advanced countries because of the high price of biologic drugs. To expand our footing in developed countries, price competitiveness needs to be secured. For that, we are considering acquiring an API plant in India, as the country is a leader in this segment,” Seo said in a telephone interaction with 27,000 shareholders during a general shareholders meeting in Songdo, Incheon.

The chairman added that because the company would be placed in charge of basic research as well, he plans take the entire stake to prevent technology leaks when and if the deal goes through. 

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin
Korea Pharma Today

“With the acquisition, we plan to morph into a comprehensive drug maker which has a pipeline not only of biosimilars but also new drugs,” Seo said.

Industry watchers forecast that the buyout plan is also aimed to boost chemical business run by Celltrion Pharm, the generic arm of Celltrion.

Celltrion has been seeking to go beyond biosimilars, for which it’s currently popular for. Buoyed by increasing sales abroad -- particularly Remsima and Truxima in Europe -- the Korean firm has been pushing to go beyond borders with fresh investment plans.

“By completing a joint venture within the first half of this year, we will be tapping into the Chinese market,” the chairman said. Celltrion and its Chinese counterpart Tasly Pharmaceutical Group had struck the JV deal in December last year.

Seo also reassured shareholders that the location of its third production line, speculated to be established in the US or Europe, will be finalized before June.

“Contract drug manufacturers in the US, Europe and Korea are producing our biologic drugs, but we would like to make it in-house to scale down costs,” he said.

Seo is currently in Austria as a part of his months-long Europe marketing tour to promote Celltrion’s biosimilar products.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)