Set for completion by year-end, expected to drive Korea’s rise as a global 안전 바카라사이트 hub
[by Yu, Suin] The CHA Bio Group announced on July 23 that it held a topping-out ceremony at the construction site of the ‘CGB (Cell Gene Biobank),’ currently under construction in Pangyo Second Techno Valley. The topping-out ceremony marks the completion of the building’s structural framework (exterior), including the installation of the main beam, signifying the transition to the interior construction phase.
Approximately 200 people attended the ceremony, including key figures such as Lee Hyung-hoon, Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, Shin Sang-jin, Mayor of Seongnam City, Lee Eui-jun, President of Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency, 안전 바카라사이트 Kwang-ryeol, Director of 안전 바카라사이트 Medical Center and 안전 바카라사이트 Bio Group Global Comprehensive Research Institute, Kim Han-joong, 안전 바카라사이트irman of 안전 바카라사이트 University of Medical Science, and Choi Suk-yoon, Vice 안전 바카라사이트irman of 안전 바카라사이트 Biotech.
Slated for completion by the end of this year, the CGB is set to become the world’s largest single facility dedicated to cell gene therapy (CGT). The facility will comprise 10 above-ground floors and 4 underground floors, encompassing a total floor area of 66,115 m2. CGB will house core infrastructure essential to the biotechnology industry, including CGT contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) facilities, U.S. cGMP-compliant manufacturing systems, a clinical trial contract organization (CRO), a biobank, advanced research laboratories, and co-working spaces designed to support ventures and startups.
Seongnam City, the site of the CGB, aims to establish an integrated cluster encompassing the 안전 바카라사이트tech and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors by connecting Pangyo Techno Valleys 1 and 2 with the 4th Industrial Technology Research Complex (3rd Techno Valley). Through this initiative, the city seeks to position itself as a leading global 안전 바카라사이트tech innovation hub in Asia. With this vision, the CGB is expected to serve as a central pillar in advancing Korea's emergence as a global powerhouse in the 안전 바카라사이트pharmaceutical industry.
The CGB is poised to function as a production base for the CHA Bio Group’s global CGT CDMO business. By integrating CHA Biotech’s expertise in cell technology and its specialized workforce with the operational know-how of its global CGT CDMO network, including its U.S. subsidiary, Matica Biotechnology, the company aims to secure a distinct competitiveness in the global CGT CDMO market. Notably, the CGT CDMO facility will be capable of simultaneously producing CGT, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), viral vectors, and plasmid DNA in a single building, thereby maximizing production efficiency.
In addition, the CGB will house a biobank designed to store all human cells, including stem cells, natural killer (NK) cells, umbilical cord blood, and oocytes. The facility aims to preserve autologous cells to enable treatment of various diseases while minimizing the risk of immune rejection. According to 안전 바카라사이트 Bio Group, the integrated development, production, and commercialization of cell therapies based on proprietary cell lines and technologies will advance the pursuit of cell sovereignty.
In particular, the second and third floors of the CGB will adopt the proven success model of the Cambridge Innovation Center to create a 10,000 m2 global open innovation center, named ‘CGB-CIC.’ It will leverage the infrastructure and capabilities of CHA Bio Group’s integrated industry-academia-research-hospital ecosystem, as well as the global network of 96 hospitals affiliated with CHA Hospital, to support tenant companies in new drug development, product commercialization, and international market expansion.
“CGT, as a third-generation biopharmaceutical, is garnering attention as a next-generation technology capable of addressing unmet medical needs that current treatments have been unable to resolve,” said Cha Kwang-ryeol, Director of CHA Bio Group and CHA Bio Group Global Comprehensive Research Institute. “With the completion of the CGB, centered on CHA Bio Group’s CGT expertise, will bring us closer to realizing the vision of a so-called ‘bio-nation,’ a nation that ‘contributes to its development through the biotechnology industry.’”