National Growth Fund Approves Low-Interest Loan for Kyongbo Pharmaceutical’s Dedicated ADC Production Facility

The National Growth Fund has approved a low-interest loan for Kyongbo Pharmaceutical to build a production facility dedicated to the next-generation cancer treatment antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).

The KoreaBIO Association’s Bioeconomy Research Center said on the 31st that the National Growth Fund’s Fund Management Committee approved financial support for Kyongbo Pharmaceutical, based in South Chungcheong province, on the 27th.

Kyongbo Pharmaceutical applied for a 20 billion won loan from the Advanced Strategic Industry Fund to enter the ADC business, drawing on its existing experience producing active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished drugs.

This is the National Growth Fund’s fourth investment in the biopharmaceutical sector. It follows an 85 billion won investment in BTGEN in April, a 300 billion won low-interest loan to SK Bioscience in May and a 250 billion won direct investment in LigaChem Biosciences in June. It is the fund’s third low-interest loan to a biopharmaceutical company and its second investment in the ADC sector, following LigaChem Biosciences.

Kyongbo Pharmaceutical, an affiliate of the Chong Kun Dang Group, has extensive experience producing anticancer drugs. It plans to collaborate with other companies to secure customized antibodies and holds more than 10 proprietary drug-linker manufacturing and ADC conjugation technologies.

With the support, Kyongbo Pharmaceutical plans to build a dedicated ADC production facility and participate in the ADC industry value chain by providing clinical sample manufacturing and component analysis services.

In February, Kyongbo Pharmaceutical said in a corrected disclosure filed through the electronic disclosure system that it had increased the construction cost for a GMP production facility for its ADC contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business from 85.46 billion won to 96 billion won. The investment was increased because of additional equipment to improve productivity and design changes, among other factors. The investment period runs from Aug. 14, 2024, through Dec. 31 of this year.

Kyongbo Pharmaceutical plans to complete the GMP production plant by the end of this year and begin full-scale production of clinical samples by the third quarter of 2027, after validating the plant and preparing for GMP certification.

The company’s strategy is to begin its ADC business with nonclinical and clinical applications, expand into commercial applications, and differentiate itself from competitors by providing ADC development platform technology based on its in-house drug-linker development.