HK inno.N, a South Korean pharmaceutical company formerly known as CJ HealthCare, will explore cell and gene therapy to find new solutions for blood cancer and lung cancer focusing on developing CAR-T immunotherapy. The company’s new drug development plan was released during JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco held on Jan. 11-14.

HK inno.N said on Wednesday it already started to build production facilities for cell and gene treatments last year and is recruiting additional R&D engineers.

John Rim, the new chief executive of Samsung Biologics, who made his debut in public through the conference, said the Korean biosimilar giant will diversify its business into vaccine, cell therapy and other non-biosimilar areas to become a comprehensive healthcare company for the next decade.

His biggest task this year is to win new orders from customers early on for the company’s fourth plant which becomes operational in 2023. The company also said it established a consignment development research and development center in San Francisco last year, and plans to do the same in Boston, Europe, and China in the future.

LG Chem, another Korean pharmaceutical company present in the conference, said it will put more resources into global clinical trials of metabolic disease therapies including one for non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis (NASH). A Phase 2 trial of its gout drug is due to be completed by the end of June in the U.S. LG Chem’s life science business head Sohn Ji-woong said the company has launched some 40 new drug development projects through aggressive investments and open innovation in the past four years.

Hugel, Korea’s No. 1 botulinum toxin name, said it will become the first Korean firm to sell botox products in China in March or April. Hugel is also planning to enter the U.S. botox market following Daewoong Pharm

By Kim Byung-ho, Chung Ji-sung and Minu Kim

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