GC Biopharma breaks ground for Indonesia’s first blood products plant

GC Biopharma, GC Group’s biopharmaceutical unit, announced Wednesday that the company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first Indonesian plasma fractionation plant within an industrial complex near the country's capital of Jakarta.

The event comes six months after the company received approval from the Indonesian government to join the construction project, a trilateral partnership with the Indonesian Red Cross and P.T Triman, a local drugmaker.

Under the partnership, GC Biopharma will transfer its technologies relating to the construction of blood product plants, while the Indonesian government will be responsible for the construction and operation of the plant.

A company official said that a contract will be signed as early as the first quarter of next year, declining to reveal the exact size of the deal.

The plasma fractionation plant is located on 40,000 square meters of land within the Jababeka Industrial Estate, just 35 kilometers east of Jakarta. The plant, which is slated to become operational in 2027, will have 400,000 liters of annual production capacity, according to the company.

“The plasma fractionation plant is expected to help Indonesia lower its dependency on imports of blood products,” the official said, adding that Indonesia’s population is close to 300 million, but the country is currently 100 percent dependent on imports of blood products.

GC Biopharma is the only private entity that has extensive experience in building blood products plants around the world, including Thailand, China and Canada.

“Starting with the successful construction of the plant, GC Biopharma will continue its cooperation and support for the advancement of the Indonesian health care industry,” GC Biopharma CEO Huh Eun-chul said during the ceremony.