"K-Bio aims to localize medium development... to expand global market" 

Amicogen, Xcell Therapeutics, and K-Cell Biosciences Develop Competitive Media 

Domestic bio companies are actively developing 'media', a key material for biopharmaceutical production, attracting the attention of related industries.

According to the industry on the 19th, Amicogen, Xcell Therapeutics, and K-Cell Bioscience are jumping into the development of media additives, media for cell gene therapy (CGT), and cultured meat media.

Amicogen has media competitiveness in grinding and mixing formulation technology, customized optimized media, serum-free chemistry media, and cell line development services. Amicogen has core material technologies that can reduce the cost of biopharmaceutical production.

Currently, the company is building a one-stop service from cell line to customized medium development, and is accelerating the localization of biomaterials (resin and medium). In addition, the company plans to mass-produce the first powdered medium in Korea and grow into a key player in the field of reducing the cost of biopharmaceuticals.

Earlier, on the 15th, Amicogen decided to issue a paid and unpaid public offering of common stock after shareholder allocation of approximately 95.7 billion won to raise facility funds and debt repayment. The company plans to achieve a 30% domestic market share for badges and resins by 2030 and accelerate its entry into the global market.

Exell Therapeutics, a company specializing in culture media for cellular gene therapy (CGT), has launched a dedicated medium for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a dedicated medium for dermal papilla cells (DPCs), and a dedicated medium for keratinocytes and exosomes. According to the company, it plans to launch natural killer (NK) cell and T cell-specific media later this year.

In order to compete with global companies in the global medical market, Excelsior Pharmaceuticals has secured cell culture media production facilities (Factory 1 and Giheung GMP) that can produce 100,000 liters of products per year. In August, the company passed the technical evaluation for a special listing on KOSDAQ. "We expect the results of the preliminary listing examination to come out by the end of this year," a company official said in a press release at the time.

Cell culture media company K-Cell Bioscience (hereinafter referred to as K-Cell) is a biotech company founded in April 2021. In July, the company announced that it will invest tens of billions of won to build a cell culture medium manufacturing plant in Gijang-gun, Busan. According to the company, the plant is expected to be operational by early next year.

K-cell is also working on developing cultured meat media. In July, the company signed a medium supply agreement with a global cultured meat leader. Earlier, in March this year, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Baobab Healthcare to jointly develop culture media for aquatic products.

A representative from the bio industry said, "Media production is a manufacturing industry. Because of this, production and facility operation costs are necessary." "Considering the amount of funding for domestic (media production) companies, it is not easy to produce media. If you want to enter the global market, you need to have a financing plan for your local business."

Another industry insider said, "The global competitiveness of badge production companies depends on superior cost reduction compared to competitors," and advised that domestic companies should quickly raise funds to create global credibility for badge production."