GC Lab Cell, a cell therapy developer, said Friday that it recorded 45.8 billion won ($43 million) in sales last year, an 8 percent increase from 2016. The company expects the sales growth will continue this year thanks to bio-logistics demand, it added.

“Sales are expected to continue to expand this year as the high growth of biopharmaceutical market and strengthened regulations on pharmaceutical transportation are increasing demand for bio-logistics,” a GC Lab Cell official said.

Sales from the company’s bio-logistics division rose about 30 percent last year, the company said. Notable growth also occurred in its sample inspection service division, with a 10 percent uptick in sales from the previous year, GC Lab Cell said.

The Yongin, Gyeonggi Province-based biopharma registered 1.7 billion won ($1.6 million) in operating profit last year, a 17 percent drop from 2016. The profit loss was due to substantial research and development costs of its natural-killer (NK) cell therapy derived from non-blood cells, MG4101, it said. The company launched a phase 2 trial for MG4101 in Korea this year, becoming the first company to carry out a P2 test for an NK cell therapy.

“We plan to concentrate our capabilities on developing next-generation products such as CAR-NK cell therapy drugs along with the NK cell therapy in development,” the company official said.

GC Lab Cell acquired patents for the mass production technology of cell therapy drugs in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Korea last year and is working to commercialize it, he added.