inno.N and JW Life Science compete to become the nation’s largest producer of IV (intravenous) fluids.

inno.N said its new plant for IV production in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, was ready to operate. On Wednesday, inno.N said its new IV manufacturing site in Osong recently obtained GMP certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It was capable of making 55 million units of IV fluids annually.

The company emphasized that the new factory in Osong could produce the largest amount of IV fluids in the country. Combined with 50 million units of IV fluids from the existing plant in Daeso, North Chungcheong Province, the company can manufacture over 100 million units of IV fluids annually, it said.

With the new plant in Osong, inno.N hopes to enlarge its local IV fluid market share, too. The company recorded 86 billion won ($73.1 million) revenue from IV fluids last year, which accounted for about 14 percent of the total sales. As soon as the pilot production and product licensing is complete, the company will begin making 15 IV fluid products, including Plasma Solution A Inj.

Mindful of inno.N’s promotion of the new factory, JW Life Science, the leading IV fluid maker in Korea, expressed regret over inno.N’s expression of “the largest domestic production.”

JW Life Science makes IV fluids at a plant in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, established in 2006. Celebrating World Water Day on March 17, JW Life Science said it had produced a total of 3 billion units of IV fluid since the company successfully localized the IV fluid in 1959. The company is supplying 140 million units of IV fluids annually, it added.

“Our company produces 140 million units in actual output, and this is not an estimate but a counted number. Our annual output is larger than this,” an official at JW Life Science said. “Our plant in Dangjin produces not only products for the local market but the global markets.”