Closures and layoffs from some of the largest drug manufacturers in the U.S. have not rattled South Korean company Lotte Biologics from acquiring a pharmaceutical plant in Syracuse, N.Y., according to a March 27 report from syracuse.com.
The company purchased Bristol Myers Squibb's pharmaceutical plant for $160 million in January. The acquisition took only eight months, and a proposed expansion will increase the facility's capacity to manufacture a larger volume of medicine than it is currently capable of.
"Currently, the Syracuse Plant can produce a total of 35,000 liters of antibody drug substance," according to a Jan. 2 news release. "Lotte Biologics is actively reviewing expansion plans for new fields and additional production facilities for drug product and antibody drug conjugates."
Antibody drug conjugates, also known as ADCs, use antibodies to direct chemotherapy to tumors. Lotte plans to further invest in the development of ADCs at the site with an additional $70 million, part of which will be used to physically expand the center's footprint to manufacture them, according to syracuse.com.
At this time, the company does not have plans to manufacture drugs of its own and will only seek to do so as a third party for other pharmaceutical companies, syracuse.com reported.