SK Inc., the Second Largest Conglomerate in South Korea, Has Invested $350 Million in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines 

The Center for Breakthrough Medicines recently announced it has received $350 million in equity financing from SK Inc..  CBM is partnering with SK to create the world’s largest end-to-end cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).

CBM will leverage this investment to enhance its fully integrated pre-clinical through commercial manufacturing capabilities with world class automation and infrastructure. Existing and future capabilities include process development, viral vector manufacturing, cell processing, plasmid DNA, cell banking, and a full suite of complimentary analytical development and testing capabilities.

“We chose to partner with SK based on our shared deep desire to cure cancer and eradicate genetic disease,” said Brian O’Neill, Chairman, Center for Breakthrough Medicines. “Thousands of people are dying every day, and we have the ability to cure patients by manufacturing these new technologies. This unprecedented collaboration will allow us to bring over 700,000 square feet of capacity online, and hire 2,000 of the world’s most brilliant, advanced therapy experts, all at the Discovery Labs site in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.”

“SK is the perfect strategic partner to enable CBM’s core mission of expediting approval for cell and gene therapies,” added Audrey Greenberg, Co-Founder, Center for Breakthrough Medicines. “SK’s mission of delivering value and happiness for all, their emphasis on a culture of safety and quality, and their global reach creates an ideal match for CBM allowing us to scale and deliver in an unprecedented manner.”

In addition to supporting lab and GMP suite build-out, this investment will also enable strategic joint ventures, sponsored research agreements, and development of proprietary technology platforms.

“People of all ages are suffering from cancer and genetic diseases around the world.  Our partnership with SK accelerates our ability to bring together the world’s most brilliant minds to develop and manufacture cures,” said Joerg Ahlgrimm, President and CEO, Center for Breakthrough Medicines. “The partnership with SK, Inc. allows us to more fully realize our mission to save lives by accelerating the development and manufacturing of advanced therapies. This mission is the foundation of our company culture – we always put our partners and patients first, it is the premise of CBM and why we come to work every day.”

“CBM’s strong management team and geographic location in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the cell & gene therapy industry, were core elements in our desire to invest in the company,” said Mr. Dong Hoon Lee, Executive Vice President of SK Inc., “Through our investment in CBM, which was made through SK Pharmteco, an SK holding company, we have secured a crucial foundation for realizing SK pharmteco’s vison in 2025 to become a global top-tier CDMO.”

Incentrum Group acted as exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.

CBM is a horizontally integrated cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). CBM offers fully integrated, bench to bedside, pre-clinical through commercial manufacturing capabilities including, process development, plasmid DNA, viral vector manufacturing, cell banking, cell processing, and a full suite of complimentary testing and analytic capabilities. CBM’s innovative horizontal integration enables the utmost quality and accelerates time to market and affordability of advanced therapies from discovery to commercialization without compromising quality through a single-source, end-to-end solution, providing the opportunity for incubators, academics, researchers, and companies small to large to align with the most comprehensive manufacturing partner in the industry.

SK Inc. is a diversified, publicly-traded (KRX: 034730), investment holding company for SK Group, a leading conglomerate in Seoul, South Korea with major operating companies in energy, semiconductors, telecommunications and life sciences, with significant investments in BioPharma cell and gene therapies. SK pharmteco, a holding company of SK CDMO business based in California, consolidates the operations of AMPAC Fine Chemicals, SK biotek, SK bioteck Ireland, and Yposkesi. The company has global manufacturing facilities with demonstrated capabilities in process development, scale-up, and cGMP-compliant commercial production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and registered intermediates for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers worldwide.