Kukje Pharma to Invest 55.52 Billion Won in Ansan Plant, Increasing Ophthalmic Solution Capacity by 133%

Kukje Pharma will make a 55.52 billion won investment in new facilities at its Ansan plant in Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The investment, disclosed following a board resolution on the 24th, centers on constructing new facilities for ophthalmic solutions, oral solid dosage forms, and product storage. The investment amounts to 56.8% of equity, which stood at 97.70226 billion won based on the consolidated financial statements as of the end of December 2025.

The investment is intended to increase production capacity in line with sales growth and improve costs. Once completed, ophthalmic solution production is expected to increase by 133% from current levels, while tablet and capsule production are each expected to increase by 100%.

The investment comes as the ophthalmic solution production line has reached capacity. As of the first half of 2025, the utilization rate of the ophthalmic solution manufacturing facility at Kukje Pharma’s Ansan plant had reached 97.8%, making expansion unavoidable. Demand for ophthalmic solutions is rising rapidly amid increased use of smartphones and other digital devices and an aging population. Growth of the company’s internally developed dry eye treatment Reva-i and the macular degeneration biosimilar Idencelt, which it co-markets with Celltrion Pharm, has accelerated the need to expand production capacity.

■ Phased funding and new facility configuration

The investment period runs from today through Sept. 30, 2029, with spending planned at 4.9 billion won in 2026, 40 billion won in 2027, and 10.62 billion won in 2028. The new facilities will consist of an ophthalmic solution and oral solid dosage form building, with a total floor area of 4,911 square meters, or approximately 1,488 pyeong, and a product storage facility, with a total floor area of 2,673 square meters, or approximately 810 pyeong. The investment includes construction costs, production equipment purchases, and QMS system development costs. It also includes the 9.46578 billion won facility investment for which groundbreaking had already taken place following a board resolution on Nov. 7, 2025.

The company also plans to improve production yields, reduce repair costs, and extend operating hours by replacing aging manufacturing facilities. Construction of the new product storage facility is intended to establish a smooth supply system and proactively eliminate logistics bottlenecks resulting from expanded production capacity.

■ Expansion through CMO business and global technology exports

The investment is not limited to manufacturing the company’s own products; it is also intended to capture global demand for contract manufacturing of ophthalmic medicines. Kukje Pharma has sterile production facilities that comply with international standards, including PIC/S GMP, giving it the advantage of being able to mass-produce high-quality ophthalmic solutions. In the ophthalmic formulation CMO market, where demand for outsourcing by global pharmaceutical companies is increasing, the infrastructure expansion could strengthen the company’s competitiveness in winning contracts.

The company’s technology export achievements are also drawing attention. Reva-i, an improved dry eye treatment developed by Kukje Pharma using its proprietary solubilization technology, was licensed to Japan’s Rohto Pharmaceutical under a first-stage agreement, demonstrating its global competitiveness. If TFC-003, an improved fixed-dose glaucoma combination treatment currently in phase 3 clinical trials, successfully launches around 2028, the company could accelerate its efforts to expand market share based on the increased production capacity at the Ansan plant.

The global ophthalmic pharmaceutical market was worth approximately $40 billion, or about 53 trillion won, in 2024-2025. It is projected to grow at an annual average rate of 5%-8% through the mid-2030s, reaching $60 billion-$80 billion, driven by population aging and the growing number of people with diabetes. Industry experts expect demand for ophthalmic formulation CMOs to expand in tandem with this trend, raising the possibility that Kukje Pharma’s investment could lead to positioning aimed beyond the domestic market and toward the Asia-Pacific market.

However, the investment amount and period may change as the project progresses. Because this is a large-scale investment well exceeding half of the company’s equity, external variables such as fluctuations in raw material prices and construction delays during the core 40 billion won construction segment scheduled for 2027 could affect when the investment begins generating actual returns.