Chong Kun Dang (CKD), one of Korea’s major pharmaceutical companies, said Wednesday that it has completed a plant for anti-cancer drugs in Cikarang, Indonesia. Commercial production will begin within the second half of this year. The plant is run by CKD-OTTO, the joint venture established with CKD’s Indonesian partner OTTO in September 2015.

The plant located in Cikarang Industrial Estate 50 kilometers away from the capital city of Jakarta was awarded GMP certification from the local government in September 2018 after construction was started in July 2016. In February this year, halal certification was given to the plant from the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), the highest Islamic scholars’ institution in the country.

The $30 million two-storey plant has a total floor space of 12,588 square meters and is capable of producing 1.6 million vials with EU-GMP facilities. Pilot production was already completed with approval for manufacturing of major cancer drugs such as gemcitabine and paclitaxel.

Under the Indonesian law to give a business license to foreign companies with local production facilities, CKD opted for a strategy of localizing production facilities in the country whose cancer market is growing at an annual rate of 38 percent. CKD aims to leverage its manufacturing hub in Indonesia to expand its presence in other Islamic and Asian countries.

By Kim Byung-ho and Minu Kim

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