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| Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion, speaks during an online press conference, Wednesday. Courtesy of Celltrion |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Seo Jung-jin, founder and chairman of Celltrion, vowed to transform the biosimilar maker into a leading new drug maker and launch a series of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities to diversify its business portfolio during an online press conference, Wednesday.
The chairman added that Celltrion will seek advancement into the artificial intelligence (AI) technology-based digital healthcare business to keep pace with trends in the biomedical industry that increasingly utilize emerging digital technologies.
"We are a leader in biosimilars, but we will try to generate 40 percent of the company's sales from our own drugs and 60 percent from biosimilars by 2030," the chairman said. Biosimilar drugs are biological medical products very similar to existing approved products.
The chairman revealed the vision in order to achieve stable growth for the company. "Everyone thinks of Celltrion as a biosimilar company but we expect our Remsima SC drug to be approved as a new drug in the U.S. by October this year. We will also conduct 10 clinical trials for developing new drugs in 2024," Seo said.
Celltrion has expanded partnerships in recent years to secure new drug platform technology. In January, the company became the largest shareholder of the U.K.-based antibody-drug conjugates developer Iksuda Therapeutics through a joint investment with Mirae Asset Group.
The press conference was Seo's first official event a day after he was voted in as a co-chair of the boards of the group's three companies ― Celltrion, Celltrion Pharm and Celltrion Healthcare ― during Tuesday's shareholders' meeting.
In early March, Celltrion announced Seo would return to management, two years after he resigned from management in March 2021, to let the founder serve a critical role in saving the biotechnology group, which has been facing growing business uncertainties.
"We will also try to enter the digital healthcare business based on AI technology. Also when many companies are undervalued, we will actively implement M&As with our surplus cash to expand our business vertically and horizontally," the chairman said.
"We have been interested in the digital healthcare business for a long time. This sector is directed by Seo Jin-seok, chairman of the board of directors of Celltrion. With the development of AI technology, business has become easier. We are in the research stage and plan to launch a separate research center for this business," he said.
The chairman spoke of the pending merger of the three stock market-listed companies ― Celltrion, Celltrion Pharm and Celltrion Healthcare.
"The preparation process for the merge is almost complete. As many shareholders want this, we are looking to finalize the process within up to four months after presenting a milestone for the merger," the chairman said.
In September 2020, Celltrion Group said it would merge the three companies, citing management transparency, strengthening governance and expanding business capabilities.
The chairman also revealed the possibility to establish a drug-manufacturing plant in the U.S. at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to strengthen drug manufacturing domestically.
"President Biden is emphasizing the manufacture of raw materials and drugs in the U.S. but no specific plan has been proposed yet. If so, we intend to accept the will of the U.S. administration," Seo said.
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