Macrogen, a Korean digital healthcare company, said it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Songdo Global Genome Center in Incheon. 

The company emphasizes that this facility is Asia's largest genomic big data hub in terms of data quantity. 

The construction, slated for completion by the second half of 2025, is a response to the increasing global demand for genetic analysis tests, according to the company. 

Macrogen further stated that the new genome center in Incheon will integrate the existing Gasan Genome Center in Seoul, expanding and relocating it to the Songdo Biocluster. This move aims to secure talent and address the rapidly expanding genomic market requirements.

Macrogen held the groundbreaking ceremony at Songdo High-tech Industrial Cluster on Wednesday, with Macrogen Chairman Seo Jeong-sun, CEO Kim Chang-hoon, and officials from the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Authority in attendance. 

The Songdo Global Genome Center is planned to be an eight-story building with one basement and a total gross floor area of 18,843 square meters, situated on a 6,017 square meter site within the Songdo High-Tech Industrial Cluster.

The integrated genome center will encompass the current genome analysis center along with a new center for medical and healthcare platform development, an integrated logistics management facility, and employee welfare space. This consolidation aims to enhance functionality and employee welfare.

The company said the new center will function as a global genomic big data hub that “combines big data, including genomic information, with artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the digital transformation of healthcare.”

In addition, it aims to serve as a “genome foundry” that vertically integrates the value chain of the genome business to streamline and speed up the entire process, while maximizing competitiveness by dramatically increasing production capacity and reducing costs through automation in the global market.  

Established in 1997, Macrogen provides cutting-edge genetic analysis services to over 18,000 clients in 153 countries worldwide. 

In particular, the company is focusing on popularizing genetic analysis with its healthcare mobile platform GenTok. 

GenTok supports ultra-personalized healthcare based on the analysis of body conditions such as innate genetic traits and microbiome.

“The groundbreaking of the Songdo Global Genome Center will serve as a springboard for Macrogen to become a global digital healthcare company,” said Kim Chang-hoon, CEO of Macrogen. “Through the convergence of genomic big data and AI technology, we will contribute to the realization of personalized precision medicine and maximize our competitiveness in the global market.”

Also, Macrogen's Sejong Campus is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2024. 

The company said it will relocate its existing Daejeon Genome Center to the Sejong Campus and further strengthen its sales activities in the central and southern regions of Korea.