Matica Biotechnology, CHA Biotech’s U.S. offshoot, said Thursday that it aims to achieve annual sales of 1 trillion won ($762 million) in 2030, emerging as one of the big-five cell and gene therapy CDMOs worldwide.
"The cell and gene therapy (CGT)’s contract development, and manufacturing organization market is expected to grow by more than 20 percent annually to reach 25 trillion won in 2030," Matica Biotechnology CEO Song Yun-jeong told a news conference.
Song emphasized the company has signed a CDMO deal with a U.S. gene therapy company and negotiated with more than 50 companies since it opened a CDMO manufacturing facility with a 500-liter bioreactor in College Station, Texas, in May.
"If Matica creates synergy by combining advanced technology accumulated in the U.S. with CHA Biotech's cell therapy development know-how accumulated for more than 20 years, it will easily attain the goal of 1 trillion won sales by 2030," CEO Song said.
Song also stressed the company's strength over other competitors.
"I know that big local pharmaceutical companies and conglomerates, including GC and SK, are recently trying to enter the CGT CDMO field by taking over U.S. companies," Song said. "However, to be successful in this industry, you need to know your customers well."
According to Song, the development speed of CGT is very fast compared to the previous chemical substances and antibody therapies, and many investors in CGT companies demand such speed.
"Our clients, most of whom are CGT companies, also emphasize speed," she said. "However, there are no standardized development and manufacturing processes in the CGT CDMO market. So, it is necessary to provide customized services to meet customer needs."
The strength of Matica Bio's CDMO facility is that it applies cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of various customers flexibly, she added, noting that the company plans to expand manufacturing facilities and equipment by reflecting the needs of customers and the clinical trends of CGT products.
"In addition to the CDMO facility completed in May, the company has secured space to expand its capacity that can produce commercial-stage pharmaceuticals," she said. "Also, the company plans to expand its business area to various cell therapy products, and the development and production of viral vectors, key raw materials for CGT products."
She said that by the end of 2023 or early 2024, the company would double the plant's present capacity.
Matica Bio is conducting joint research with Texas A&M University to accumulate technology and develops automation technology for pharmaceutical process analysis with Sartorius, a global bioprocessing company.
The company opened the "2022 GLOBAL CELL & GENE DAY" conference with CHA Bio Group earlier in the day.
"About 400 people, including CEOs of domestic and foreign bio companies, investors, and analysts, attended the conference," a company official said. "The event became an opportunity to share global market trends and investment trends in the CGT field and to strengthen networks between companies."