Hanmi invests in ‘smart plant’ to boost CDMO biz

South Korean firm Hanmi Pharmaceutical has invested 150bn won ($140.7m) in a manufacturing ‘smart plant’ to increase its contract services.

The Paltan Plant – located on a 36,492m2² site in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province – was built last year by Samsung Engineering and designed by Japan’s Kajima Construction.

The facility – which has an annual production capacity of up to six billion tablets – has vertically-placed production lines in order to maximise manufacturing efficiency.

Further, the firm installed a ‘split valve’ system to reduce contamination risk when transferring products from one vessel to another, and announced plans to install GEA’s ConsiGma continuous solid dosage manufacturing platform.

The plant also provides visitors an “independent tour route”, in order to view manufacturing processes through glass windows.

Contract services

CEO Woo Jong-see said the plant creates a ‘one-stop’ infrastructure, from R&D to manufacturing and distribution.

“Our global CDMO [contract development and manufacturing organisation] business will get into full swing at the plant, giving Hanmi another opportunity to bolster its international presence,” said Jong-soo.

Hanmi also makes its own products on-site, including hypertension drugs Amosartan and Rovelito,  anti-thrombotic drug Pidogul, and cholesterol-lowering Rosuzet.