Celltrion acquires US biopharma plant from Eli Lilly to counter tariff threats

Seoul, Sep 23 (IANS) Celltrion, South Korea's leading biopharmaceutical company, said on Tuesday its US subsidiary has signed a deal to acquire a US biopharmaceutical production facility, a move it said will "eliminate" risks from looming US tariff hikes.

Celltrion USA will take over the production facility from Eli Lilly for 460 billion won ($330 million) and aims to complete the deal by the end of this year, the company said in a press release, reports Yonhap news agency.

"With this acquisition, we have secured a fundamental solution to hedge tariff risks, along with earlier steps, such as preemptively shipping two years' worth of inventory to the U.S. and expanding local contract manufacturing organization (CMO) deals," Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin said during an online press conference.

By establishing a local production hub, Celltrion said it has created a one-stop supply chain in the United States that spans the entire drug manufacturing process, from production to commercialization.

The company plans to invest 700 billion won in the plant, including the acquisition cost, and an additional 700 billion won for expansion.

In July, Celltrion was selected as the preferred bidder to acquire the 37-acre facility in Branchburg, New Jersey, as well as 10 acres of undeveloped land for future expansion to meet rising market demand.

The Branchburg facility is a large-scale, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug substance manufacturing site compliant with current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) regulations. It has a proven track record in producing treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, according to Celltrion.

"We will continue manufacturing pharmaceuticals for Lilly under a CMO agreement at the facility, while also producing Celltrion products there," Seo said.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering domestic drug prices by benchmarking them against those in other countries. The order targets a system in which the U.S. pays significantly more for prescription drugs than other advanced economies.

Trump has also said tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the country could eventually reach up to 250 percent, the highest level he has threatened so far.

Celltrion has been aggressively expanding its global biosimilar portfolio, raising the number of approved products from six to 11. It aims to commercialize 22 biosimilars by 2030 and 41 by 2033, and plans to launch clinical trials for 13 original drugs by 2035.

Its sole original drug, Zymfentra, is currently sold in the U.S. for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

--IANS

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