Jeil Pharmaceutical Co., a mid-sized pharmaceutical company in South Korea, Tuesday vowed to become a global healthcare solution provider with annual sales of 1 trillion won ($880 million) by 2020 through its new smart factory that began operations late last year.

The three-story cutting-edge plant completed in July 2015 at cost of 40 billion won in total sits on a gross floor area of 13,121 square meters and is capable of producing up to 1 billion tablets a year. The company said it aims to double production capacity to 2 billion tablets in the future as part of new initiatives to expand its contract manufacturing business.

Jeil Pharm is currently providing antiviral products to a Japanese customer from the smart factory. Its entecavir generic to treat hepatitis B is expected to generate more than $2 million in annual sales. The company is trying to reach out to new customers in the CIS, Europe and the Middle East beyond Japan.

Safety is maintained at the highest level at the new plant, where production facilities meet the American cGMP requirements for manufacturing and management of pharmaceutical products, the company said.

The plant is also equipped with a battery-powered warehousing system that enables real-time monitoring and control of all processes to further production efficiency.

“The latest smart factory designed on the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) standards will serve as one of our bridges to achieving the revenue milestone of 1 trillion won,” said Kim Jung-jin, head of the plant.

By Kim Hye-soon

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