[JPM 2024] Celltrion chief vows to set up W100tr fund via IPO

SAN FRANCISCO -- Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion's Founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin on Wednesday pledged to establish a 100 trillion won ($75 billion) health care fund through the initial public offering of the holding firm of Celltrion Group, as soon as later this year or early 2025.

Seo envisions the listing of Celltrion Holdings to harness the generated funds for future initiatives in the biopharmaceuticals sector. Seo holds a 98.5 percent stake in the firm.

"With the forthcoming listing, I will establish a health care-dedicated fund amounting to 100 trillion won to invest in biotechs spearheaded by young and innovative entrepreneurs," Seo said, emphasizing hopes to secure investments from both the fund to be raised via the IPO and global investors together, to stimulate the development of novel drugs and modalities in the market.

On the third day of the 42nd J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, the chairman and his son Seo Jin-seok, CEO of Celltrion and chief portfolio manager of Celltrion Group, appeared together on Celltrion's main track presentation.

The chairman went on to explain that among the global population of 7 billion people, some 6 billion are unable to access suitable treatment due to high costs. He expressed the company's commitment to tirelessly work in lowering costs of drugs through the biosimilar market, to solve this problem.

He outlined Celltrion's financial goals for next year, setting an earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) target of 3.5 trillion won for 2025 and 6 trillion won by 2026. The chairman aims to channel these funds into initiatives that make treatments more financially accessible to a broader public.

Meanwhile, Seo made it clear that Celltrion is not interested in any future mergers and acquisitions in the biopharmaceuticals industry, emphasizing his long-held philosophy that a company's most significant asset is its human talent.

"My top priority is to create a favorable working environment for our employees, nurturing their talents and developing their skills, and this is what we hope to do for tomorrow, rather than acquiring another company,” Seo said.

He asked for the investors and experts in the field to closely monitor, invest and challenge Korea's biopharmaceuticals market in the coming years.

"After all, Celltrion is a Korean company. We have our headquarters, manufacturing facilities and employees in Korea. But as you can see, our sales are global. I can assure you that Korea will become a key player from now on, in the field of biologics and health care." Seo said.

Celltrion CEO Seo Jin-seok gave a 20-minute presentation on Celltrion's growth journey with biosimilars placed at its center.

He unveiled plans to launch a total of 22 biosimilars and novel drugs in the company's portfolio by 2030, anticipating a minimum fivefold increase in sales. Notably, the event marked the CEO's first appearance on an official stage in front of global investors.

Seo highlighted the firm's milestones over the last decade, ranging from obtaining EMA approval for the world's first antibody biosimilar Remsima in 2013, to establishing a successful global direct sales network in 2019.

"We found out that biosimilars can reduce the global health care cost of around $383 billion over the next five years, which is Celltrion's pride and sense of mission," Seo said.

In addition to Celltrion's current portfolio of six biosimilars available globally, 11 new biosimilars are set to be released by 2025, Seo said.

Emphasizing future trends and prospects in the biosimilar market, Seo underscored Celltrion's commitment to securing a leading position by actively expanding its pipeline. The company is to enhance global competitiveness through efficient and flexible production.

"We have learned through our data that unlike the traditional environment where we try to maximize the bioreactor size itself, the ability to manufacture various products in low-volume is the next step to go. With this in mind, Celltrion has adopted single-use reactors and small and mid-sized bioreactors at our Plant 1 and 3." Seo said.

Meanwhile, the CEO expressed high hopes on the autoimmune disease treatment Zymfentra, also known as Remsima SC, scheduled to make its debut in the US market in February, after its approval in October last year.

"By 2030, we expect 11 trillion won in sales, and 3.3 trillion won in operating profit. ... Today is the lowest market value for Celltrion, since we will always be expanding from this time on." Seo added.